


Not A Hero

by FiresFromOurHearts



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: But that's cool because it's about Redemption, Did I mention Slytherins?, Don't really know what I'm doing, Gen, Good Slytherins, Here it goes, Hogwarts, Hogwarts Fifth Year, I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm bad at life, Let me show the real slytherins, Redemption, Slytherin, Slytherins Being Slytherins, enjoy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-04
Updated: 2018-01-24
Packaged: 2018-08-19 12:21:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 23,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8207815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FiresFromOurHearts/pseuds/FiresFromOurHearts
Summary: (On hold until I have time to plot this out and rewrite everything and make it better and I am excited to do it all.)It was not Harry Potter who stepped up into the green light of the Slytherin common room. It was not the boy-who-lived who saw someone crying and decided enough was enough. It was not the hero of Hogwarts who told the Slytherins that they needed to change.It was Blaise Zabini who stepped into the green light of the Slytherin common room. It was Blaise Zabini who helped someone crying. It was Blaise Zabini who looked at the rest of his house and told them ‘Voldemort lies’. Harry Potter might be the hero to the rest of the world. Nevertheless, he looked at the Slytherins with distrust and hatred. Slytherins were the shadows in the corners of Hogwarts. They were the ones who heard whispers. Blaise was the Slytherin that left the shadows for the light; he was the one who changed Slytherin.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't edited, and I have no idea where this is going. But listen, I just want to read about Slytherins being amazing and just a book focused on Slytherins by a Slytherin and also how they really are. After all, we basically just know Draco and his gang, that's how we see the majority of Slytherin in the main series. Also, not edited or beta'd, is there a word for that? If so, I've forgotten it.  
> 5/02/17: djinn (Oxford) is editing this for me, and I am very thankful! (I also have no idea on how to make that a link...)

Harry Potter might be the ‘hero’ of Hogwarts, but he wasn’t the only one. Throughout the castle, there were many, hidden in shadows, and laughing in plain sight. Harry Potter might be the one called a hero, but it wasn’t he, who stood up one day in the Slytherin dormitory.

Three months into his fifth year at Hogwarts, Blaise Zabini entered the common room with a stern frown. There was a first year curled up in a corner, hidden by shadows. Blaise could see the silent heaves that the young girl took. He scowled. He was tired of the atmosphere in Hogwarts; it didn’t need to be in his common room as well. Next to him, Theodore Nott ignored the first year and entered his dorm. Blaise glanced at him before walking towards the young girl. The girl flinched and cowered back from Blaise who crouched down.

“Hey, you alright?” He asked gently, because he was a Slytherin and they were loyal to those in their house. The girl let out a silent sob and carefully stretched out her hand. Blaise’s brown eyes dulled as he looked at the words on the back of her hand.

“I had detention with Umbridge,” the girl said in a tone that was so close to hysteria. “She - she said I was wrong to talk during class.” Indeed, on the back of the girl’s hand was written in perfect joint handwriting:

_I must not talk aloud while Professor Umbridge talks._

Blaise pulled out his wand, recalling a spell he had read in a long-forgotten book.

“Episkey,” Blaise intoned, watching the redness fade from the girl’s hand and the swelling to drop. “Is that better?” The girl nodded, rubbing her eyes and Blaise uttered another spell, removing all trace of crying from the girl.

“Thank you,” the girl whispered as if scared to speak louder as a third year entered the common room. “My name’s Martha Norwood and I don’t think anyone likes me because my father’s a muggle.”

Blaise snorted, “That’s very likely. We’re quite a prejudiced lot here. Nevertheless, someone should’ve looked out for you. It’s how the house works.” Martha pushed her straw-blonde hair behind her ears,

“That’s not how it works.” Blaise was almost finding the situation humorous. After all, it was rare to find such a blunt Slytherin.

“Well Martha, if you ever find yourself in need of someone, just ask for Blaise Zabini.” Martha nodded and Blaise stood up, letting the eleven-year-old walk past him to her dorm.

“Picking up strays, Zabini?” Draco drawled from his corner and Blaise rolled his eyes. He sat down with a huff. Draco suddenly started paying more attention. “Something’s not right; you have that look on your face.”

“A lot of things aren’t right,” he replied moodily.

“I’m in no mood for games Zabini, either get to the point or shut up,” Draco sneered.

“Umbridge, we need to do something about her,” Blaise retorted.

“Why? She’s quite helpful, I’ve got her more or less under my thumb,” Draco said in a miffed manner.

“No one is learning anything, there was a first year crying before because of a black quill. It’s a torture device! It shouldn’t be used on fucking eleven-year-olds,” Blaise raged.

“What are you planning on doing about it?” Theodore said in disdain. Blaise scowled at his fellow Slytherin, he wasn’t a fan of Nott.

“Potter has his stupid group made of Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs. No Slytherins what so ever, not a single one of us is going to learn. We know what’s most likely to come, though; we’re the ones who need to be prepared.”

“Go make a dog home for your strays,” Nott scorned. Blaise ignored him and looked at Draco who had a surprisingly thoughtful expression on his face.

“Do whatever you want,” he said when catching Blaise’s eye. Blaise smirked to himself – that was more or less the go ahead from Draco. It would be easier said than done, Blaise knew that. The first step would be to convince more of the Slytherins that Voldemort wasn’t all they had heard. That he wasn't good, that killing muggles and muggleborns would not help purebloods. In fact, Blaise had read muggle studies on inbreeding and how it causes a multitude of problems. Blaise needed a reported pureblood's death – one of Voldemort’s Death Eaters who was killed by the Dark Lord their self. Blaise had heard of such a death, the person in question had been called something Abbott. Blaise chewed on his lip and let himself drop back into his four-poster bed. A chime went through the dorm, distracting Blaise and telling him it was time for dinner. Blaise rolled over and got up, smoothing his robes down so he looked presentable. Blaise followed other Slytherins as they all marched out of their common room. He briefly wondered if any of the other houses had noticed that all the Slytherins stuck together, rarely leaving one alone.

In the great hall, Blaise sat down on one side with Draco and Theodore sitting away from him, unsurprisingly.

“What did you do to piss them off?” Daphne Greengrass asked, sitting opposite Blaise.

“Nothing really, Nott isn’t overly impressed with my new idea and Draco has figured it’s best to stay away,” Blaise replied as he added food to the pile on his plate.

“I’m going to need some more to go on,” Daphne responded as she poured soup into her bowl.

“Thinking of making a Slytherin group so we can have a class for DADA,” Blaise said through a mouthful of food. “Umbridge is useless and one of our own has scars due to a detention.”

Daphne spluttered, choking on her drink. “What do you mean one of our own? What happened to sticking together?”

“Half muggle, which was all the reason her year needed to keep away from her,” Blaise seethed.

“She can eat with us,” Daphne decided, “Where is she?” Blaise looked around, spotting the girl somewhere down the bench with no one near her.

“Martha!” He called out, grabbing her attention, “Come join us!” Martha smiled and brought her plate over so she was sitting next to Blaise. “This is Daphne Greengrass,” Blaise introduced, “I wouldn’t trust her. She keeps stealing food off my plate during breakfast if I’m not watching.”

“I do not!” Daphne defended, causing Martha to laugh and relax.

“I feel replaced,” someone said from behind Blaise, causing him to jump in surprise. The same person – Tracey – just laughed, and plopped herself next to Martha. “I’m Tracey Davis, half-blood and only source of fun out of this lot,” Tracey said to Martha who giggled.

“I’m Martha Norwood,” Martha said, drawing herself straight to look like she’s oh-so-very important.

“I am honoured to meet you,” Tracey said with a straight face as she ate. Blaise rolled his eyes at his friends.

“Tracey, have you heard Blaise’s new grand idea?”

“Is it like his last one?” Tracey asked, sounding suspicious. Blaise groaned and rubbed his eyes, he didn’t need the reminder.

“What was Blaise’s last idea?” Martha asked, seeming to catch onto Blaise’s embarrassment.

“Oh, it was quite funny,” Tracey said with a chuckle.

“Indeed.” Daphne murmured, “Blaise here wanted to get a closer look at the giant squid in the lake. Thus, he made all three of us go down to the lake water – in winter mind you. He also made the mistake of letting Peeves overhear him, so we were down by the lakeshore when Peeves came up behind us. It frightened both Tracey and me, while Blaise jumped a mile in the air and landed in the lake – deep enough so he got all his robes wet. The best part of his idea had been to do it during lunch, right before class. There was no time to get changed either, so we were forced to go to classes wet. Professor McGonagall ended up using a drying charm and it was the best gossip around the school for months.”

Blaise hid his face behind his hands,

“Oh Merlin, why are we friends?” He moaned.

“You love us,” Tracey chimed in, causing Martha to erupt into laughter again.

“No, I’m quite sure I don’t. Where did you get that absurd notion?” Blaise answered. Daphne smiled.

“Anyway, I’m sure Tracey wants to hear about your new idea.” Blaise rolled his eyes but spoke anyway,

“I want to basically make a DADA class. It’s completely unfair we learn nothing in class while Potter and his group actually learn and get away with it.”

“Is this why Malfoy and Nott are sitting away from you?” Tracey questioned.

Blaise hummed, “Well, it’s why Malfoy is. You know Nott simply follows, power-grabbing as he is.”

“Is that not being a Slytherin though?” Martha piped up, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion. “I was told it was being ambitious and cunning.”

“Not at all,” Blaise said.

“Off he goes,” Daphne moaned as she smiled at Blaise, who felt quite strongly about the topic of what being a Slytherin meant.

“The major aspects of being a Slytherin are being resourceful, cunning, ambitious, and clever. However, the most important aspects are those that we don’t talk about, those that are our flaws and strengths. We survive and we hold the spirit of fraternity. You do not have to have these traits to be in Slytherin, they might be a core belief or a desire. Being a Slytherin does not define you. You being in Slytherin is what defines our house,” Blaise said.

“Anyway, your idea, stop distracting me,” Tracey said, casting a glare over Martha’s head at Blaise. Tracey often forgot, with how Blaise often acted, that there was a reason why he was in Slytherin. Blaise had gotten the option of Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and Gryffindor. Blaise was intelligent, hence why he might’ve been in Ravenclaw. However, Blaise was willing to ignore the rules and do what he had to. Slytherin was a clear offer, though; Blaise was ambitious and willing to do much in order to reach his goal.

Blaise smirked as if he were following Tracey’s line of thinking. “We need to… expose some truths that are forbidden and denied.” Tracey’s eyes widened.

“You think you can do it?”

“I will,” Blaise promised.

“Tonight,” Tracey said, looking at Daphne and Blaise who both nodded in agreement. It was a simple tradition that had begun in first year. If the three ever needed to talk without being heard, they would meet in the common room late at night before going to a place where they would remain unheard.

**

Blaise relaxed in one of the couches, barely moving as the common room clock chimed midnight. Daphne’s pale face stood out in the darkness as she exited her dorm with Tracey. Blaise pushed himself up, a book held in hand, as he followed his fellow Slytherins to one of the mahogany desks. Tracey was the first to duck down and open the secret passage in the wall behind the desk. There was a soft grinding sound as part of the stone wall shifted backwards before turning sideways so that the students could just squeeze through. Blaise was the last one through the passage, so he had the troublesome job of wriggling around so he could tap the door with his wand. The stone door shuffled around and closed behind him, leaving the Slytherins in darkness once more.

The secret passageway had been discovered by Daphne one day when she had crawled underneath the desk to retrieve a dropped quill. She had pushed on a number of the stones while reaching for her quill, causing the passageway to open. Luckily, it had been only her in the common room at the time. Blaise stood the moment that the passageway opened up enough. In front of him, Daphne had lit the tip of her wand so the trio could see in the darkness.

“Where shall we go tonight?” Tracey asked, teeth glinting.

“Dungeons, the flood one,” Blaise replied, “Don’t want to get caught.”

“Fair enough,” Daphne said before leading the three into the dungeon hallway where the passageway stopped. The Slytherins made their way in near darkness through the flooded hallway to another room. The room in question looked like another plain dungeon room. However, it was simply an illusion. Tracey undid the illusion with a few flicks of her wand, while Blaise closed the door behind them all. The room lit up by torches on the wall, while the water in the room sunk through the floor. The room had a bunch of couches and cushions in one end and numerous musical instruments in the other. The Slytherin trio had figured that it had once been a hideout for a few muggleborns, who had wanted to escape the Slytherin atmosphere briefly, hence, the musical instruments. Blaise sat down on the floor with his back to a couch.

“Alright, what’s your plan?” Tracey asked, sitting on one of the large cushions opposite him.

Blaise opened his book, which held a collection of newspaper clippings with Blaise’s handwriting annotating sections.

“How many Slytherins hear about the Dark Lord from their parents?” Daphne opened her mouth to reply but Blaise quickly interrupted. “Rhetorical question Daph, anyway, anyone who reads the newspaper ignores it as the media is prone to lying and misdirecting. Therefore, everyone hears what their parents want them to hear, not the actual truth. The only ones who truly know would be the Death Eaters, and they would be loyal to Dark Lord or too deeply entrenched to escape the Dark Lord’s hold.”

“What’s your point here Blaise?” Tracey said, eyes narrowing.

“We need to reveal the truth to everyone. They should make their own decisions, not be forced due to family relations or didn’t know what the Dark Lord really does.”

“They’ll think that you’re lying,” Daphne said, pointing out the clear flaw in Blaise’s argument.

“That’s where this comes in handy,” Blaise explained, motioning to the open book in front of him. “This is an article on Mark Abbott, who was a known Slytherin and Death Eater. He was blacked out due to his relations with the Dark Lord. He’s distantly related to the Malfoys and Blacks, and quite removed from any traditional light families. Anyway, he died in about 1978 during the war but here’s the fun bit, he was killed by Death Eaters. There was no reason for his death; he was just in the way when the Dark Lord had a moment of anger.”

“That might give some pause, but there will still be others against it,” Tracey murmured.

“I don’t need to convince them, I just need to make them question,” Blaise replied.

“What are you going to do about it afterwards?” Daphne said in a sceptical manner, “You’ve got to be planning more.”

“This is where it gets better. We can get a group together and learnt defensive and offensive spells this year. I don’t particularly want to be learning nothing this entire year.”

“What’s that going to achieve? Are you going to force them to fight?” Tracey asked, looking outraged.

“No!” Blaise said, his voice raised almost to the point of shouting. “No,” he repeated again vehemently. “I’m thinking that those who want to escape the fighting, to hide, to survive, or who do want to fight will need the spells. I’m thinking that those who want to stay neutral or hide will need a place. They can’t use their own for obvious reasons. When I turn seventeen, I will inherit my entire inheritance. This means that I’ll probably own a number of houses that I can give for people who want to hide. Either way, they’ll need to defend themselves.”

“Why now?” Tracey asked, “I mean, I understand that You-Know-Who has just risen and no one really knows, but the point remains. Why do you choose to do something now? Why not later?”

“C’mon Trace, that’s an easy answer,” Daphne responded. “Based off what we know, the Dark Lord won’t be sitting still, and being unknown, for some time. He’s probably plotting and planning currently, which means by the end of the year something will happen. This means that in the worst-case scenario he’ll have more power by the end of the year. The best-case scenario is that he ends up dead. Either way, it’ll only help to be prepared. If everything turns to crap next year, it’ll be the Slytherins who are watched and hunted down.”

“I don’t understand why you two keep calling him the Dark Lord,” Tracey said after a moment of silence. “It’s such a pointless title, and you’re giving him respect and allowing yourselves to fear him.”

“You aren’t much better,” Blaise rebutted, “You call him You-Know-Who.”

“It’s better than flight from death, which is the translation of his name,” Tracey said in response.

Daphne frowned.

“So that’s a title then, not a name.”

Blaise suddenly perked up, “If it’s a title and not a name, then we fear a title and the Dark Lord might not even be a pureblood!”

“Knowing that would change everyone’s opinions drastically and it would be a stab in the back to the Slytherins,” Tracey said.

“And that’s against the unwritten Slytherin code, so the majority of his followers would turn on him…”

“Merlin, that’s something,” Blaise muttered, “but how do we know he isn’t a pureblood?”

“If he was a pureblood then he would go around by that name, not hiding behind a title,” Daphne responded swiftly.

“We need a plan if we’re going to change things,” Tracey said, and Blaise pulled out a quill from his pocket and flicked to an empty page in the book.

**_Changing Slytherin:_ **

**_Step 1:_ ** _Explore the topic of Mark Abbott’s death – begin a debate in the common room while most of the worst fanatics are away_

**_Step 2:_ ** _Leave a message on the notice board about a defensive/offensive spell learning squad (DADA) with practical work included – people wishing to apply should pick up a slip of paper with a time and a place on it (different per person)_

**_Step 3:_ ** _Research into the Dark Lord’s real name – possible ammunition in the debate of who is ‘correct’ and who is ‘wrong’_

**_Step 4:_ ** _Reach out to those wishing to hide or fight for a different side – offer safety, and refuge_

**_Step 5:_ ** _Gather Slytherins who are willing to reach out to other houses and get them to do so, work on changing the basic views on Slytherin and rid ourselves of this animosity_

**_Step 6:_ ** _Prepare Hogwarts for a battle or a takeover – have exits and escape routes prepared, prepare for deceit and trickery, have entrances and hideaways_

“That’s a lot of big steps,” Tracey said as she reviewed the list.

“Don’t think we can do it?” Blaise questioned.

“No, I think we can, it’ll just be a lot of work. Are you ready to step out into the light and bring yourself attention?” Tracey explained.

Blaise nodded, “I’m not about to let that stand in my way.” Tracey looked at her dark-skinned friend. This was why he was in Slytherin because he was ambitious and he would do almost anything to achieve his goals. Daphne grinned.

“Step one commences tomorrow.” Blaise nodded.

“Let’s do this.”


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are shaking up in Slytherin, and at the core of it all is Blaise. There's interesting chats all around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know what I'm doing with my life. I mean, I should probably write the book more and edit it and all that... Oh well, I've never been one to plan ahead too much.  
> Edited by djinn (one day I will know how to make that a link... or bother to figure it out. That day is not today, though)

Blaise carefully turned the page of his book. It was the Standard Book of Spells: Grade Five, and Blaise had an assignment on shield charms to complete. Blaise had a good reason for working in the common room instead of the library. The fact he wasn’t dealing with any other annoyances (read: students from other houses) was one reason. The other reason, which was the more important reason, was that Blaise was waiting for the room to clear to commence step one of his plan. Neither Tracey nor Daphne were nearby, that was expected. Blaise hadn’t been surprised that his friends were unwilling to put themselves in the spotlight. Slytherins, as a whole, tended to prefer the shadows and remaining overlooked and underestimated. What Blaise planned to do was the opposite, and as such, Tracey and Daphne would be in danger if they had been willing to stand with Blaise.

“Blaise,” a voice hissed beside him, pulling his attention away from his inner thoughts and book. Blaise glanced over at the speaker – Pansy. 

“Pansy,” he greeted. She raised an eyebrow, 

“I’ve heard you’re up to something,” Pansy coaxed.

“Did you just? That’s an interesting rumour. I must admit I hadn’t heard it yet. Did Nott give you this interesting tidbit?”

“Oh, this came from a much more… trustworthy source,” Pansy said, sitting down next to Blaise and leaning on him.

“Malfoy has your ear again?” Blaise questioned, knowing that it was one of the sources that Pansy would count as trustworthy.

“He always has my ear,” Pansy purred. Blaise let back into the couch and looked at Pansy. 

“I am grateful for you telling me this,” he murmured, hoping that this tactic would work. Talking with Pansy was always a game of looking at the underneath; it was a game of politics. Blaise was rather used to this underhand way of talking. By indirectly thanking Pansy, he was not so politely dismissing her and ending the conversation unless she stated what she truly wanted.

“Oh,” Pansy said softly, as in surprise, “Are you not going to tell me this idea of yours?” Blaise raised an eyebrow at her, questioning the almost blunt approach. 

“If I had an idea I might. Alas, I have no idea what idea we’re discussing.” Pansy stood up quickly and fluttered her eyes at Blaise. 

“Would you care for a stroll around the lake?” She asked, out of the corner of her eye she glanced around the room. Blaise tilted his head and stood, understanding that she wanted the privacy for just the two of them. 

“I would be honoured,” he replied slyly, putting his schoolbook down on a desk. By putting the book down on the desk, he was doing two things. One was showing Pansy his trust and loyalty to the house. The other was stating that their conversation would be important. Together the pair strolled out into the cool November air. They walked in silence for a while. It wasn’t a comfortable silence; it was tense and carried the undertone of danger. Nevertheless, it was a political move on Pansy’s side and Blaise simply let it develop.

“I saw something intriguing yesterday,” Blaise finally said, taking the initiative to speak. Pansy waited for him to continue, which he did. “There was a first year crying, alone. She had been in detention with Umbridge.”

“There is nothing interesting there,” Pansy said, waving the statement off.

“So one would think,” Blaise accepted. “What I found interesting was the black quill she had been forced to use.”

“That’s a torturing tool!” Pansy hissed, losing control for a moment. Blaise let her regain her equilibrium before speaking again. 

“Indeed. Nonetheless, this young girl had no one go too. She was, in fact, crying in the common room.” Pansy fell silent, as Blaise had expected. Slytherin appearing weak was something Pansy would hate, it would appeal to her to change that. “Have you heard of Mark Abbott?”

“Who?” Pansy immediately asked, caught unawares by the sudden change in topic.

“Exactly,” Blaise said with a smirk, spinning around to a stop and facing Pansy. “Mark Abbott was one of the first Death Eaters. He’s related to the Malfoys and the Blacks.”

“Abbott is a pureblood family that’s traditional light,” Pansy pointed out.

“Indeed, thus he was blacked out and forgotten by most. He was a Slytherin as well; I believe he was a prefect in his year, quite like you. However, in 1978 he was killed by the Dark Lord.”

“On what accounts?” Pansy asked in reply, not understanding where Blaise was going.

“He was,” Blaise sneered, “in the way. It was after a raid that the Order of Phoenix had conducted, and the Dark Lord was in a terrible mood. He lashed out, and dear Mark was lost in the crossfire.”

“I’m sure you are incorrect,” Pansy said sounding shaken.

“I can assure you, I am quite correct. Of course, this case is not one of its kind. Throughout our history, numerous witches and wizards have died due to the Dark Lord’s ideals and spite. Some of the fallen are on his side. Tell me, Pansy, exactly what is so appealing about the Dark Lord? Why do you endeavour to become attached to his side?” Pansy’s eyes narrowed, figuring out that Blaise was attacking her about her position in the coming war. Blaise didn’t wait for her to speak and barged forward. “Did you know, that the Dark Lord’s name that we know, means flight from death in French? It’s interesting, that we know the wizard by his title. I will admit I am young and relatively unknowing of war. However, I am interested to know why so many purebloods follow either a muggleborn or a half-blood who wishes the death of all muggles and their kin?” Pansy stepped away from Blaise, eyes cold. 

“What is your point here? I did not come here to be attacked.”

“No,” Blaise responded, a smirk curling on his lips. “You came here for answers, and you should know they always come with a price. The price for today’s answer is questions; you will be questioning motives from now on. You will be wishing to find out more. You will be pushing and stabbing and using all your cunning to find answers.” Pansy drew herself up and stared Blaise down. 

“You have made an enemy out of me.”

“No,” Blaise said sadly, “You are making an enemy of your parents.” Pansy spluttered and Blaise spoke over her, “It has been lovely talking to you Pansy. We must do this again.”

“I agree, Blaise, this has been quite… pleasant,” Pansy said, lingering on the last word and making it sound like an insult. Blaise smiled and wandered back to the common room, wondering what Pansy’s next move would be. She was the Queen of the Slytherins in her year, with Draco being the King. If Pansy started questioning, it would not be quiet. There would be ripples in the making, and Blaise could start making waves, creating more attention but not taking it all. In the common room, Blaise pulled out a news article from his pocket and pinned it to the board. He whirled around afterwards, taking his book – which he was pleased to find intact – and leaving to the library with another book in hand.

**

Blaise had been in the library for two hours – and wasn’t that a boring way to spend a Saturday? – when someone came up to him. Blaise hadn’t been surprised that there were no Slytherins in the library. He supposed he probably should’ve found another Slytherin, so they could watch each other’s backs and all that. Nevertheless, only Tracey and Daphne knew what he was doing, so it would have to be one of them. As Blaise had no clue where his two friends were, he was left on his own trying to puzzle out who the Dark Lord really was.

“What are you researching?” Someone asked, “We don’t want your kind around here.” Blaise looked up in surprise, having been far too immersed in the book to pay attention to his surroundings. “Are you researching for You-Know-Who?” It was a Gryffindor, one in Blaise’s year, but he couldn’t remember the boy’s name. 

“Not for, no, never for. Trying to research about him would be a better description.” Blaise responded.

“Why? Don’t you know everything about the person’s whose boots you kiss?” The Gryffindor retorted. Blaise scowled. 

“Not everyone Slytherin is a boot-licker. In fact, not a single person I know currently is. First, we’re all too young, and secondly, it’s the parents who are to blame. After all, the majority of the house have Death Eater parents and don’t hear the reality of the Dark Lord. I’m going to prove them all wrong. The Dark Lord is the bad guy here, and they need to stop listening to the stupid excuses their parents give.” The Gryffindor huffed a laugh and sat down in the seat opposite Blaise. Blaise almost sighed; he felt like he was doing too much talking too. There were too many subtleties hidden in a conversation, too many carefully worded lines.

“Why should I believe you?” He questioned, brown eyes glittering.

“I’m alone without any Slytherins around me and in a dark corner of the library secretly looking over books? I’m a Slytherin. I wouldn’t hide if I didn’t have too.” The Gryffindor shrugged. 

“Fair enough, I suppose. I keep forgetting not all Slytherins are bad, just most of them.”

“How kind of you,” Blaise muttered dryly.

“Don’t get so hissy,” the Gryffindor waved his words off. “Now, are you really trying to change the Slytherins?”

“That’s not the main plan,” Blaise admitted, “I won’t tell you anymore unless you swear not to tell anyone.” The Gryffindor narrowed his eyes before nodding in a sharp motion. 

“Sure, I swear not to tell anyone who doesn’t already know.” Blaise’s shoulders relaxed and he flicked through the pages of his notebook that contained his plans. 

“It’s a little-known fact that Slytherin contains muggleborns. There are actually relatively few purebloods in comparison to half-bloods, but that’s not the point. I’m sure you’ve heard from Potter that the Dark Lord has risen?” The boy nodded, “Well, it’s true as far as I’m concerned. This means that something is going to happen. The Slytherin muggleborns will be the first to go, either contained or killed. I believe being dead would probably be the preferred option. Anyway, I’m trying to find out facts about the Dark Lord to cause others to question him. If I can get enough people to question him, then muggleborns and others can start reaching out for help.”

“You want to research true facts about You-Know-Who,” the Gryffindor concluded. “Except, you’re doing it to help change opinions, and help your own house. What about those in other houses with Death Eater parents?”

“If Slytherin reaches out, what do you think will happen?” Blaise returned, before sighing. “I just can’t find out much, though. There’s so much propaganda and lies from the media, it’s hard to know what’s true, what’s false, and how much bias there is.”

“I can see where your problem lies,” the Gryffindor said, looking at the stack of books next to Blaise. “I recommend getting a Ravenclaw to hear you out. Anyway, I’m meeting one of my friends now. It’s been good talking to you, Zabini.” Blaise frowned.

“How do you know my name?”

“I could’ve been in Hufflepuff. It only helps to know who’s the most reasonable in each house.” The Gryffindor said with a smirk. Blaise tilted his head in acknowledgement.

“It was good talking to you… Thank you for your input.”

“Anytime,” the Gryffindor replied before striding out of the library. Blaise sunk back into his chair, momentarily wondering if there were others watching him. There was no way to know, though, so Blaise simply packed up his books and left.

**

_ Coming into the common room will probably end with my death, _ Blaise thought mournfully as he looked at the almost-trashed area. It almost looked normal, except for the fact that multiple desks and couches and been flipped over, and there were Slytherins on either side of the room, wands held at the ready. Blaise sighed and debated if he really wanted to get involved in the mess. Thankfully, no one had spotted him yet, so he could probably escape unnoticed. There were about twenty Slytherins all up; three-quarters were younger than he was, while the other quarter was older. Blaise rolled his shoulders, trying to loosen the tense muscles. The fact that he wasn’t the eldest in the room meant he would be unable to order everyone to stop. Blaise slunk through the shadows to his dorm and opened it, letting it slam shut behind him. 

“Zabini?” Draco questioned, sounding quite annoyed.

“Malfoy, would you get out and take control over our fellow housemates?” Blaise pleaded, not even bothering to sound like he wasn’t begging. Draco pushed himself upright and put his book down. 

“What do you mean?” Something crashed outside in the common room and Blaise flinched.

“That,” he said, raising his voice above the sudden noise, “is what I’m talking about. They will stop if you order them too, Ice Prince.” Draco scowled.

“I could let you deal with it.”

“You could,” Blaise agreed, “I assume you would prefer to deal with it yourself, though. Otherwise, some of them might think your judgement is… lacking.” Draco glared at Blaise, knowing quite well, what he was saying. 

“You threaten me?” Blaise smiled thinly. 

“I am a Slytherin. It is not a threat. It is a fact.” Draco snarled soundlessly and left the dorm with a bang. Blaise smiled smugly to himself. Draco might think he was the master of Slytherin, but he was not immune to manipulation.

“What is going on out here?” Draco thundered, speaking in the newly developed silence. “If you are prone to rolling about on the ground, such tomfoolery is required of a Gryffindor.” Blaise winced, knowing that Draco was hitting the Slytherins right where it hurt. “I do not think your parents would accept this,” the fifth year Slytherin said. Blaise wondered how many others could hear the undertone there, hearing the silent  _ the Dark Lord would not accept this _ . “If you must fight, do so in a manner that is Slytherin, that is of your standards. Do not,” Draco warned, “do so like some common folk.” Draco stalked back into the dorm, and Blaise watched him gracefully collapse on his bed. “This is your fault,” Draco muttered. “You did something.”

“If you have proof of such an action, please put it forward,” Blaise replied. Draco growled, and Blaise had the pleasure of watching the boy’s mask and control slip. 

“I feel it is in your best nature to avoid bringing too much attention to yourself.”

“I feel as if I have already done that,” Blaise responded, putting his books in his trunk and locking it.

“Then you may want to watch where you tread, some lines are not made to be crossed.” Blaise locked eyes with Draco’s grey ones. 

“Is that a threat?” He questioned, an eyebrow raised.

“Yes,” Draco answered, “it is.”


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Slytherins debate about (their) Dark Lord/You-Know-Who (as the others call him), meanwhile, Blaise has plans.

“The media always lies,” someone said, the words echoing throughout the near-silent common room. Blaise looked up, searching for the person who had spoken. It was a sixth year, and she stared everyone done as they looked at her. Blaise looked around, finding it somewhat surprising that almost all of Slytherin was in the common room at the one time.

“Is this about that news article?” Terence Higgs – two years Blaise’s senior – asked. The first speaker nodded. 

“It is. I’m sure it’s false, though. The Dark Lord would never kill a Death Eater unless he or she did something wrong.”

“You-Know-Who  _ is _ prone to fits of anger, though. The article might be right, even if some facts have been heavily exaggerated,” Adrian Pucey pointed out.

“There must have been a reason,” someone stammered. “His family or he must have done something to displease the Dark Lord.”

“His family couldn’t have, he was disowned. His closest relation was with the Malfoys and Blacks,” Terence Higgs replied. “I know that as I was looking into my family tree and found myself… somewhat connected to the Abbotts.”

“We’re all connected one way or another. It’s the only way to keep our lines pure,” another person pointed out.

“It’s why the Dark Lord is aiming to get rid of muggles and mudbloods, possibly half-bloods too,” Nott said.

“You do realise that if mudbloods,” Blaise said, choosing his words carefully, “are all killed off, along with the muggles and half-bloods. It means that all the purebloods will end up interbreeding. There are so many issues that come with it. For one, people tend to fall prone to insanity or partial amnesia earlier. Another problem is that due to such similar genetics there is a larger chance of contracting a disease or illness that can cause serious harm, if not death.”

“How do you know that?” Nott asked scornfully and Blaise rolled his eyes.

“It’s a revolutionary idea in medicine, except it was hidden by many in the government. This meant that people such as myself would attempt to find out. After all, to hide something means there is something important to hide,” Blaise said, evading Nott’s attempt to get him to admit he had been out in the muggle world.

“You mean that by killing off muggles, mudbloods and half-bloods, we are putting ourselves in danger of dying out?” Millicent Bulstrode muttered.

“I thought we were on the subject of You-Know-Who and Mark Abbott’s death,” Adrian wondered aloud.

“We are,” Blaise returned, “I was just making a point that appeared to go over your head.” Adrian scowled but ignored Blaise’s insult. “However, does not the article hold a deeper meaning? Why would someone put it up if just to debate the technicalities surrounding a death?”

“Someone wanted us to wonder if the Dark Lord is right or not and whether we should follow him.” Pansy Parkinson said, casting a sideways look at Blaise who did his best to keep himself under control and not give himself away. Pansy looked away seconds later, and Blaise knew it had worked.

“Numerous people say he is a madman, they cannot all be wrong. Can they?” Someone pondered out loud, the words easily carrying in the dead silence.

“I don’t know, a lot of people say Potter’s a hero, are they all wrong?” Malfoy said, causing a number of Slytherins to start with the realisation that the Ice Prince was in the room.

“Potter was known for vanquishing the Dark Lord when he was barely a year old. To many that was defeating the villain in their lives, meaning he had rescued them. Thus, they thought of him as a hero. 

“My question is why does the Dark Lord want to kill Potter? Why did he try to murder a child?” Tracey dictated.

“You say that like he’s the only child the Dark Lord has murdered, or in this case attempted to kill,” someone said with a laugh.

“Explain, Vaisey,” Pansy demanded.

“You all seem to think that the Dark Lord has only attempted to murder a child once. He doesn’t care who lives or dies. He just wants power, and he uses everyone to get it. It doesn’t matter if it’s a child in the way or not. He doesn’t care if they’re just in the wrong place at the wrong time, he will kill. The Dark Lord kills because he can, it is a choice, and there is no reason. The Dark Lord has killed countless people who are unable to defend themselves, whose deaths served no purpose. The Dark Lord is responsible for so many deaths, and that doesn’t begin to include causalities,” Vaisey told everyone in the common room.

“Does anyone even know what the Dark Lord is fighting for?” Someone asked, “I mean, I know that one of the steps is to kill off the muggles and mudbloods and half-bloods. What’s the end goal, though?”

“It’s about superiority, like when the Nazis took over Germany and began World War II. Of course, most of you wouldn’t know this as it’s in muggle history. The basics of what happened is that a man, named Hitler, used a group of people called Nazis to take control of Germany and persecute anyone who wasn’t like him. It ended in war, all because Hitler thought he was superior to everyone else. Why? Because of different skin colours,” a second year stammered, trying to ignore all the eyes on him.

“That – that can’t be right,” someone complained, probably a first-year. “My parents told me that the Dark Lord was right, they can’t be wrong!”

“Well, here’s some news for you,” Blaise replied. “Adults lie, parents lie,” Blaise looked around at the room. “Voldemort lies,” he said with a shudder.

“We all hear from bias sources – our parents, family, and fellow housemates. We also hear from our enemies – the light side, Gryffindors, and teachers. Have any one of us ever heard from an unbiased source? Probably not, but you know what is an unbiased source? Muggles, if only because they have no idea we exist. Muggles call the actions that the Dark Lord has taken to be ‘terrorist’ acts. You all know what that means. If muggles are calling the Dark Lord evil, and they aren’t pure, you can probably be sure that there’s something not coming together here. We hear about the Dark Lord and the fact he’s killed, he’s murdered, he’s destroyed, and he’s stolen. We hear he does it in our name, but here’s a funny thing. He doesn’t do it with his own name. Lord Voldemort,” Blaise said, barely hiding a shudder, “is a title. So let me ask you if the Dark Lord was a pureblood, why is he hiding?” Blaise leaned back into the couch, feeling numerous dark glares on him. However, it was someone surprising who spoke up. 

“Since the end of school last year, the Dark Lord has been back. He is planning death and destruction. Do not let a choice be forced upon you, you must choose for yourselves. Being a Slytherin does not make you cunning or ambitious. You being a part of Slytherin is what makes this house. We have a horrible reputation, it is your choice to decide whether we want it to stay that way,” Draco whispered, having all the room’s occupants hanging on his words. 

There were a few minutes of silence before anyone else spoke, as everyone took in what had just happened. Blaise could see that a few people stances weren’t changing, but many looked thoughtful. Slytherins, as individuals, had to know themselves well in order to manipulate. They had to know how people worked and how they themselves might end up being manipulated. This feature helped Slytherins to start changing their minds. It allowed them to work towards changing their opinions and attitudes. Blaise looked at Draco thoughtfully, but grey eyes were closed off once more. Blaise decided he would need to reach out to Draco soon, the fact the boy had spoken up meant he was putting himself at risk. Draco wasn’t prone to doing such things without cause.

“You know,” Daphne spoke up, looking at Tracey as if speaking to her friend and not having the entire room listen to her. “Umbridge is quite a useless teacher, all things said and done. If there’s going to be a fight, I want to know what to do. I want spells that will allow me to be offensive and defensive. There’s word of a club going on, a secret one so it’s clearly false,” Daphne allowed a small laugh before continuing. “Nevertheless, it might be a smart idea if we started practising. I mean, if a Dementor comes near me I wouldn’t know how to get rid of it.”

“Patronus charm,” Terence said loudly, “That’s how you get rid of them.”

“I take it there are books in the library on this particular charm?” Tracey questioned, and Terence nodded in reply. “Good, Blaise let’s meet in the library after lunch. We have some studying to do.” Blaise rolled his eyes, but smirked at his friend, knowing very well that she was working to get rid of the tense atmosphere. Tracey glared at him, and Blaise went along with her plan. 

“What? Can’t you stay away from me for one day?” Daphne snorted derisively.  

“As if. No. The real reason is that you’re a secret bookworm and probably know where everything in the library is.”

“Clearly it’s not much of a secret if you know,” Blaise rebutted, “That means by now everyone knows.” Daphne gasped, mocking being offended. 

“I would never!” Tracey laughed and pulled on Daphne’s ponytail teasingly. 

“Yeah right,” she said with a smirk.

**

Blaise pulled out a book in the charms section of the library. 

“What do you have?” Daphne asked once he had sat back down at their table.

“Charms of Defence and Deterrence by Catullus Spangle,” Blaise read, looking through the index quickly. “Page 57 – Patronus Charm,” he said, flipping through the book to the correct page.

“You found something then,” Adrian said, plopping himself down in a chair next to Blaise.

“Why are you here?” Tracey asked curiously, looking up from a book on herbology.

“I assumed you had a hidden reason for announcing a study group just after our conversation in the morning.”

“We were helping Blaise,” Daphne said with a wave of her hand. At the sound of his name, Blaise jerked his head up.

“Well, Blaise might want to start preparing for being pulled into a practical class for defensive and offensive spells,” Adrian announced, and Blaise grinned.

“Good,” he said sharply. “Anyway, for the Patronus Charm, the incantation is  _ Expecto Patronum _ . To have the spell work, you need to focus on a single memory – the happiest memory you know. You may end up with a corporeal or incorporeal form. The incorporeal form is a silver shield while the corporeal form conjures a spirit guardian. Catullus Spangle believed that the form taken is a hidden inherent part of one’s personality. However, it will only come to light when the caster needs it the most.”

“What’s the wand movement?” Adrian asked curiously, “This would be a helpful spell to know.” Blaise circled his wrist in the air, in a swirl motion. 

“That would be the wand movement. The problem is that the spell is quite difficult, beyond N.E.W.T level.”

“Slytherin,” Daphne reminded, “We can do anything we set our mind to.”

“Confidence is good in small amounts, be careful not to be overconfident,” Tracey warned.

“Are you planning to create a practical group?” Adrian quizzed, “It is against the ‘Educational Decree: No. 24’.” Tracey snorted at Adrian’s attempt at Umbridge’s voice. 

“We must unite inside Hogwarts or we’ll crumble from within,” Blaise quoted. Daphne’s eyebrows furrowed. 

“Where do I know that from?”

“The Sorting Hat this year. It does speak the truth, and it warned us this year. We need to unite, and that’s one of Slytherins unspoken traits.”

“You’re such a nerd,” Tracey said to Blaise.

“Group?” Adrian repeated, unwilling to let the trio get him off track.

“It was an idea. However, we would need to be hidden and know who we can trust…” Blaise said, trailing off. “As such, we decided it’d be best to fly under the radar and continue following the rules. As we all should. Besides, if we did create a group, there is no unknown room where we could practise.”

“Of course, we have to follow the rules. Especially the newest Educational Decrees that have been put in place to benefit us.” Daphne murmured, “It wouldn’t do if we all met in the common room tonight at eleven.”

“Another issue would be, if we had decided to create a group, that we don’t have too much knowledge of spells,” Tracey added, seeming to know what the others were doing.

“I know Vaisey, Terence, and myself would never partake in such a dangerous activity that held little regard for the rules,” Adrian said as he got up. “I must be going now. It was lovely talking to you, and we must do it again some night.”

“That went well,” Tracey uttered in a low voice. Daphne nodded. “Indeed, but we need to find a room and quickly.”

“We could take the second passageway to the fourth floor and then take the locker route. That has about four separate passages going different ways. There’s the one that leads to the room with the closet. From there we can get to another hidden room, the attic, the basement, near the kitchens, and the fourth floor again.” Blaise muttered thoughtfully.

“That… would work quite well actually,” Tracey acknowledged. “How do we get the message out?”

“Notice board,” Daphne said with a wave of her hand.

“What if someone reports usm though?” Blaise pointed out. 

“What about the way Slytherins look after their own?” Daphne replied with a frown. 

“Positions of power and trust, if word got round and Umbridge found out…”

“She won’t. Slytherin’s unspoken characteristics,” Tracey reminded Blaise.

“What spells, though?” Daphne asked.

“Let’s make a list,” Blaise said, pulling out his book containing news articles and notes. “We should name this book something.”

“Call it the plotting book and be done with it, there’s no point naming it,” Tracey said rolling her eyes.

“Anyway, spells. I reckon we need defensive, offensive, healing, counter-attacks, and so forth,” Daphne said, ignoring her friends’ friendly bantering.

**_Spell Types:_ **

- _ Healing _

- _ Defensive (shields, counter-attacks, etc.) _

- _ Offensive (curses, charms, etc.) _

- _ Diagnostic spells (checking for curses, magical effects, etc.) _

- _ Spells for hiding (removing traces of existence, magical trace, etc.) _

**_Spells to Include:_ **

- _ Patronus Charm _

- _ Scorching spell _

- _ Disarming spell _

- _ Shield penetration spell _

- _ Stunning spell _

- _ Smashing spell _

_ [Continued at end of chapter] _

Blaise looked down at the long list the three had managed to compile. 

“We’ll probably end up finding more, won’t we?”

“Naturally,” Tracey replied with a grin.

“Which is just as well, as I’m sure we’ll need more than just these,” Daphne said.

“Really? I doubt that. We have so many different spells there and they can all be used in a variety of situations.” Blaise responded before closing the book, “Anyway, I’m planning to eat dinner today. What about you guys?”

_ [Continued List of Spells] _

- _ Reductor curse _

- _ Silencing charm _

- _ Impediment jinx _

- _ Scarpin’s Revelaspell _

- _ Shield charm _

- _ Water-making spell _

- _ Alarte Ascendare _

- _ Unlocking charm _

- _ Stealth sensoring spell _

- _ Anapneo _

- _ Homing spells _

- _ Illegiblus _

- _ Homenum Revelio _

- _ Anti-jinx _

- _ Stinging jinx _

- _ Hover charm _

- _ Anti-Disapparition Jinx _

- _ Revealing charm _

- _ Teleportation spell _

- _ Aqua Eructo Charm _

- _ Freezing charm _

- _ Trip jinx _

- _ Arresto Momentum _

- _ Imperturbable charm _

- _ Unbreakable charm _

- _ Arrow-shooting spell _

- _ Fire-making spell _

- _ Incarcerous _

- _ Ascendio _

- _ Babbling curse _

- _ Vulnera Sanentur _

- _ Bat-boogey Hex _

- _ Jelly-legs curse _

- _ Bedazzling Hex _

- _ Intruder charm _

- _ Bombarda _

- _ Lacarnum Inflamarae _

- _ Bombarda Maxima _

- _ Levicorpus and liberacorpus _

- _ Brackium Emendo _

- _ Locomotion charm _

- _ Levitation charm _

- _ Bubble-Head charm _

- _ Seize and Pull charm _

- _ Cascading jinx _

- _ Leg-locker curse _

- _ Caterwauling charm _

- _ Meteolojinx recanto _

- _ Cave Inimicum _

- _ Tongue-tying curse _

- _ Cheering charm _

- _ Mobilarbus _

- _ Cistem Aperio _

- _ Muffliato _

- _ Colloportus _

- _ Blasting curse _

- _ Confundus Charm _

- _ Obliteration charm _

- _ Cushioning charm _

- _ Orbis _

- _ Gouging spell _

- _ Eradication spell _

- _ Banishing charm _

- _ Pack _

- _ Descendo _

- _ Full body-bind curse _

- _ Deprimo _

- _ Severing charm _

- _ Disillusionment charm _

- _ Engorgement charm _

- _ Four-point spell _

- _ Engorgio skullus and redactum skullus _

- _ Portus _

- _ Episkey _

- _ Reducio and engorgio _

- _ Epoximise _

- _ Reparifors _

- _ Erecto _

- _ Revulsion jinx _

- _ Vanishing spell _

- _ Everte Statum _

- _ Rennervate _

- _ Explulso Curse _

- _ Mending charm _

- _ Extinguishing spell _

- _ Feather-light charm _

- _ Ferula _

- _ Muggle-repealing charm _

- _ Fianto Duri _

- _ General counter-spell _

- _ Firestorm _

- _ Flagrate _

- _ Flame-freezing charm _

- _ Knockback  jinx duo _

- _ Flipendo Tria _

- _ Smokescreen spell _

- _ Fumos Duo _

- _ Freezing spell _

- _ Gripping charm _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank god for the Harry Potter wiki, that's where I got all my spells from. I might end up making some later on.  
> Edited by the wonderful djinn


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blaise, Daphne, and Tracey show the room they've found to Vaisey, Terence, and Adrian, who are surprised at its existence. Meanwhile, Draco and Pansy find out that Blaise can see something they can't...

Blaise locked his jaw to hide a yawn as Tracey stumbled into the room. It wasn’t overly late; however, he hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before and was quite tired as a result. Tracey sleepily waved at Blaise, just as Daphne exited the dorm, looking more awake than the other two. Adrian, Terence, and Vaisey walked over to the younger trio. Blaise walked over to the fireplace, picking up the fire poker. Between the chimney and the wall was a hole that he pushed the poker into. The poker slid in, all the way up to the end. Blaise withdrew the poker and put it back, just as the fireplace – with the fire – slid up and out of sight. What was left was an empty looking fireplace. Tracey smirked at the senior three’s flabbergasted expressions. It wasn’t surprising they had no idea the fireplace could move, it was quite hidden. 

Tracey entered the fireplace before turning left and appearing to walk through the fireplace wall. Daphne was quick to follow, along with Adrian, Terence, and Vaisey. Blaise followed behind, pausing to return the fireplace to its original place via another secret button. The passageway ended behind a painting, which swayed open from the inside of the passage easily enough. Blaise watched the painting fall back into place silently. The painting was animated; however, it only held the sea and the sky.

“C’mon,” Tracey hissed, forcing the group to shuffle along the fourth floor towards a bunch of lockers. Tracey opened the centre locker and then pushed back the fake panelling, allowing it to swing open like a door. This time Tracey was the last in, shutting the fake panel behind her. 

“They’re so clueless,” Tracey whispered to Blaise, who grinned.  

“Are you surprised?” he whispered back.  Tracey shook her head, and as she did so, the corridor started to widen and grow in height. There were multiple small hallways leading off, but Blaise ignored them. Eventually, the six ended up in a large room. 

“Where are we?” Adrian asked, spinning around to gaze around.

“We’re not sure, the room appears to move every week,” Daphne replied. “Last week we had to climb stairs to get here, so I’m assuming we’re on the fourth floor.”

“How did you know this was here?” Terence asked.

“Fooling around and causing accidents,” Blaise responded.

“How does no one know this place exists?”

“Not sure,” Tracey shrugged, “We just assumed it’s because no one went looking. It’s not an easy place to find, we had difficulties getting here when we first found the locker.”

“Is this where you thought we could practise?” Vaisey quizzed. Blaise nodded.

“We thought it would be a good place as it connects to a number of other areas. Also, we can store things in here easily enough. We’ve also managed to figure out a few spells we can practise.”

“How would it all work?” Daphne asked, sounding annoyed, “None of us will want a leader, nor will we all know the spells.”

“We could separate into groups by year level, working together on particular charms. If needed, we can ask someone of a higher grade to help us,” Blaise said with a shrug.

“That does make sense,” Terence admitted grudgingly. “Do you have this list on you?” Blaise reached into his pocket and pulled out his plotting book, flipping through it to get to the right pages. 

“Here,” he said, shoving the notes towards the older student.

“Merlin, that’s a big list,” Adrian mumbled, peeking over Terence’s shoulder.

“Those are all the ones we found today,” Daphne responded, “I think there’s a diverse amount, so there should be spells that we might need but would never know otherwise.”

“The first spell we would need to work on it would be the human-presence-revealing spell. That way anyone can leave and be sure they weren’t seen.”

“Can first years use it?” Vaisey said in response to Terence’s mutterings.

“Yes, it’s fairly simple,” Terence responded, “It isn’t taught at Hogwarts either, or at least not that I know of.”

“Alright, so we have spells and a place. Now, how do we contact the other Slytherins?” Adrian wondered aloud.

“Notice board,” Daphne told the others, “That way everyone can find out and decide.”

“I’m still worried that Umbridge will find out,” Blaise replied.

“She won’t,” Tracey said confidently.

“I’m sure she was a Slytherin as well, would that change anything?” Blaise pointed out.

“We’ll be fine. No one will cross that line, it’s too big of a line to cross,” Vaisey said unhelpfully. Blaise sighed. 

“That’s that settled then. I suppose we just need to figure out times to work.”

“After lunch on Saturday and Sundays, and after school sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays,” Daphne said. Blaise raised an eyebrow, knowing that the Slytherin had clearly been thinking ahead. Daphne scowled and pointedly ignored Blaise. “What do you guys think?” She asked, directing the question at Adrian, Vaisey, and Terence.

“It’ll work.” Adrian said confidently, and with a grin, “I mean, how can it not? After all, there are already six participants.”

**

The notice had been up on the board for two and a half days. It was now a Tuesday and Blaise wondered what would happen in the common room after class today. After all, it was the day informing everyone of a practical club starting up. It was quite humorous actually; someone in the Inquisitorial Squad had spoken to Umbridge so she knew the club was running. The best part was she had accepted the club and it was allowed. Apparently, ‘study groups involving research for all year levels are greatly encouraged by the Ministry of Magic. We do want the best for our young witches and wizards’. Umbridge had no clue that it was a practical group, not a simple study group. That said, no one was going to tell her the truth. 

It was a Tuesday afternoon, and Blaise was wondering down to Hagrid’s hut for Care of Magical Creatures. Neither Tracey nor Daphne took the elective, so Blaise was taking the class with Draco, Goyle, Crabbe, and Pansy. Blaise often stuck with Pansy or Draco, ignoring Goyle and Crabbe who rarely had anything interesting to say. It wasn’t as if the two weren’t intelligent, they just tended to ignore anyone without a ‘proper’ pureblood status, or who didn’t have upper-class parents.

Blaise was not fond of the half-giant, but he only held slight resentment. The resentment was only for the less-than-fond attitude Hagrid held for his house. It wasn’t uncommon, most teachers weren’t fond of the Slytherins, causing them to be faced with the united hatred the Slytherins held for when they were treated differently. 

Hagrid was not a nice sight as he stood outside the Forbidden Forest. He had what looked like half a dead cow over one shoulder. Coupled with the fact his face looked like it had been used by some dangerous creature as a plaything, Blaise was preparing himself for a nasty lesson.

“We’re working in here today!” Hagrid called out cheerfully, jerking his head towards the dark trees behind him. “Bit more sheltered! Anyway, they prefer the dark.”

“What prefers the dark?” Draco asked, panic well-hidden in his voice.

“If you wait a bit longer, I’m sure we’ll find out,” Pansy purred, humour in her voice. Draco scowled and ignored her.

“I was seeing if any of you had been cunning enough to find out. I see I had overestimated all of you,” Draco retorted, scowling. Blaise rolled his eyes at the needless posturing.

“You clearly don’t know either. Therefore, you have no reason to insult us over something you didn’t do,” Pansy laughed. 

“Ready?” Hagrid said ominously, and Blaise scowled. “Right, well, I’ve bin savin’ a trip inter the Forest fer yer fifth class. Thought we’d go an’ see these creatures in their natural habitat. Now, what we’re studyin’ today is pretty rare, I reckon I’m probably the on’y person in Britain who’s managed ter train ‘em.”

“And you’re sure it’s trained, are you?” Draco called out, “Only it wouldn’t be the first time you’d brought wild stuff to class, would it?” There was a low agreement from the people around Draco and Blaise had to nod in agreement. He was nervous, but he knew that Hogwarts had a number of creatures that were only seen by humans and considered ‘trained’. 

“Course they’re trained,” Hagrid said with a scowl.

“So what happened to your face, then?” Draco demanded, the panic in his voice becoming more pronounced. Blaise pushed his shoulder against Draco in a silent warning. 

“Mind yer own business!” Hagrid snapped angrily, “Now, if yeh’ve finished askin’ stupid questions, follow me!” Draco snarled under his breath. 

“Watch yourself,” Blaise said softly. “After all, he might end up using you for a demonstration.” A chuckle wrung itself out of Draco’s mouth. 

“Indeed, and that’s something to be avoided.” The Golden Trio started following Hagrid, causing the rest of the class to follow. Draco scowled and Blaise rolled his eyes at the pointless hatred held for the Golden Trio. The class walked for about ten minutes until they stopped. The place they reached had trees that stood so closely together that it was as dark as twilight. There was no snow on the ground either; it was quite an eerie environment.

“Gather roun’, gather roun’,” Hagrid encouraged as the majority of the class crept from tree to tree nervously. Blaise rolled his eyes at the comical behaviour. Hagrid was a teacher, despite how he appeared, which meant that he could handle the most dangerous creatures around. “Now, they’ll be attracted by the smell o’ the meat,” Hagrid said, dumping the cow on the ground, “but I’m goin’ ter give ‘em a call anyway, ‘cause they’ll like ter know it’s me.”

“An intelligent creature then, something with more than basic animal instincts,” Pansy muttered beside Blaise. Hagrid gave an odd, shrieking cry that sounding like a monstrous bird. The sound echoed throughout the woods, and Blaise found himself shuffling closer to the group. Hagrid repeated the cry, and after a minute Hagrid appeared to make the odd cry again when Blaise spotted something. Breath seizing in his chest, Blaise found himself watching the creatures that pulled the Hogwart’s carriages from the train to the school. Blaise took a deep breath and cursed, softly but gaining the attention of Draco and Pansy. 

“What is it?” Draco hissed out. Blaise pointed to where he could see a pair of blank, white, shining eyes. The eyes were attached to a black body. The creature had bad-like wings and a horse-like skeletal body. Its face was quite reptilian and Blaise could remember a drawing he had seen of the creatures. Up close, he could tell that they were Thestrals.

“Thestrals,” Blaise whispered to his two friends. “I didn’t realise that Hogwarts had a trained whole herd of them.”

“Oh, an’ here comes another one,” Hagrid said proudly as a second Thestral came out of the trees. It dipped its head and gorged on the meat. “Now… put yer hands up, who can see ‘em?” Hagrid asked.

Blaise glanced around; he could see a few Slytherins who had grossed-out faces. They could clearly see the Thestrals but were unwilling to bring attention to themselves. Blaise wasn’t surprised, he was doing the same after all. No one put their hand up except a Hufflepuff, Harry Potter, and Neville. Draco snorted. 

“Potter’s just trying to make the oaf feel better.”

“No,” Pansy said softly, “He would be able to see the Thestrals, just like Blaise can.”

“Yeah… yeah, I knew you’d be able ter, Harry. An’ you too, Neville, eh? An—”

“What are we supposed to be seeing?” Draco sneered, cutting Hagrid off. Blaise knew it was all to keep up the mask Draco had carefully created, but it was a stupid question considering Draco knew very well, what it was. After all, Pansy and Blaise had just mentioned it. Hagrid pointed to the carcass on the ground. Several people gasped moments later, seeing the flesh and bone being stripped away from the cow carcass. 

“What’s doing it? What’s eating it?” A Gryffindor asked, retreating to a nearby tree. Pansy snorted. 

“A courageous Gryffindor,” she jeered.

“Thestrals,” Hagrid finally introduced, “Hogwarts has got a whole herd of ‘em in here. Now, who really—?”

“They’re supposed to be really, really unlucky!” The same Gryffindor interrupted and Blaise snorted in sync with Draco. “They’re supposed to bring all sorts of horrible misfortune on people who see them. Professor Trelawney told me once—”

“What an idiot, who believes in superstition?” Pansy ridiculed.

“Clearly Gryffin-dorks do,” Blaise replied with a silent laugh.

“No, no, no,” Hagrid responded chuckling, “tha’s jus’ superstition, that is, they aren’ unlucky, they’re dead clever an’ useful!”

“Even the oaf knows it. Clearly, education in Gryffindor is quite lacking,” Draco insulted.

“Course,” Hagrid continued, unknowing of the conversation taking place in the crowd, “this lot don’ get a lot o’ work, it’s mainly jus’ pullin’ the school carriages unless Dumbledore’s takin’ a long journey an’ don’ want ter Apparate – an’ here’s another couple, look—”

“Something touched me!” The same Gryffindor shouted, worry clear in their voice.

“Are all Gryffindors stupid?” Pansy wondered out loud. Draco and Blaise glanced at each other. “Has there ever been proof of otherwise?” Blaise answered with a smirk.

“Don’ worry, it won’ hurt yeh,” Hagrid said patiently. “Righ’, now, who can tell me why some o’ yeh can see ‘em an’ some can’t?”

“The only people who can see Thestrals,” Hermione Granger announced, “are people who have seen death.”

“Blaise, you’ve seen—” Draco began. Blaise growled under his breath. 

“Not now,” Blaise said, deciding he was not going to discuss the topic with his friends, ever.

“Tha’s exactly right, ten points ter Gryffindor. Now, Thestrals—”  

“ _ Hem, hem,” _ Umbridge said and Blaise almost groaned aloud.

“Who invited her?” Blaise hissed to his friends. Pansy shrugged and put on a ditsy smile while Draco moved towards Goyle and Crabbe. Blaise wasn’t surprised; they all were playing Umbridge in their own way. Blaise smirked, Umbridge had no idea that almost everyone in Slytherin was manipulating her.

“Oh, hello!” Hagrid said, smiling.

“You received the note I sent to your cabin this morning?” Umbridge asked in a loud, slow voice that was clearly made for people she thought stupid. “Telling you that I would be inspecting your lesson?”

“Oh yeah,” Hagrid said brightly, seemingly unaware of the hole he was digging. “Glad yeh found the place righ’! Well, as you can see – or, I dunno – can you? We’re doin’ Thestrals today–” Blaise decided that this was the perfect moment to zone out. It wasn’t as if anything interesting would happen now with Umbridge there. Hagrid would probably make a fool of himself, and Umbridge would act as if Hagrid were an idiot. Pansy was already giggling next to him and Blaise could already imagine the situation. He leant against Pansy and struggled to get his own laughter under control. He wondered if Umbridge had any idea that the Slytherins were snickering at her just as much as they were at Hagrid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I still have no idea what I'm doing with this...   
> Edited by the wonderful djinn, who is honestly a life saver and I don't know how they put up with my sporadic writing times.


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chess games are hectic... and it turns out that Blaise can make speeches. It also turns out that Blaise may need to rethink some of his opinions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to djinn who edited this chapter! Also, in regards to the chess game, I had a downloaded app and played two computer run chess sets against each other. So, the game would've totally worked out the way it was written.

Blaise entered the common room three minutes after his class had finished. He quickly showered and changed, unwilling to smell like the herbology greenhouses for any longer than he had too. By then, ten minutes had passed and Blaise settled himself into an armchair facing a wizard’s chess set on the table in front of him. Draco sat opposite Blaise with a smirk. 

“Up for a game?” Blaise smiled.

“I’m always up for a challenge.”

“Malfoy – white, Zabini – black, everyone prepare yourself for a wizard’s game of chess!” Miles Bletchley commentated. Multiple students started gathering around. Every game of wizard’s chess that took place in Slytherin was hair-raising and nerve wrecking. It was a challenge, and being known as the wizard’s chess champion of Slytherin was important. After all, in this case, ambition was attempting to beat the best because they said you couldn’t.

“Now, just in case some people don’t remember here’s a quick rundown on the players’ stats. Zabini is the ninth-best player in Slytherin and known for being the underdog and making comebacks, also known for making fun of the game at every turn. Malfoy is the second-best player in Slytherin, known for being in the lead the entire time. Malfoy has won approximately thirty-two games against Zabini, while Zabini has won twenty-four against Malfoy. Let the game begin! Malfoy has first move,” Bletchley announced.

“E2 pawn to E4,” Draco began.

“G8 knight to F6,” Blaise returned.

“B1 knight to C3,” Draco responded.

“E7 pawn to E5.”

“G1 knight to F3.” Seven minutes later, and with multiple pieces lost, it looked like Draco was winning. Nevertheless, Blaise was known for making comebacks. “Odds are in favour to Malfoy currently, and the betting pool is now closing.” Blaise snickered and wondered what was being bet now. Last time it had been candy. Blaise scanned the board, looking for gameplay he could do. So far, Draco had lost five pieces while Blaise had lost six. 

“D7 knight to F8,” Blaise murmured, managing to get rid of another one of Draco’s pieces. Draco had eight pieces, a few moves later, and Blaise had eight as well. It wasn’t clear who would win, but Draco’s pieces were more spread out. Draco cursed under his breath as he looked at the board, trying to find some way to beat Blaise.

“King to C7,” Blaise said with a smirk.

“Zabini has one piece left on the board – the King. Malfoy has two pawns and the King left. However, it ends as a draw as the King is blocked but not checked!” Bletchley announced with a smile. Blaise laughed. 

“Good game,” he said reaching over the board to shake Draco’s hand.

“Don’t expect me to go easy on you next time,” Draco warned.

“Don’t expect me to play nice then,” Blaise returned. Tracey bounded over to Blaise and pulled him out of the seat, pushing him to stand in front of the fireplace. 

“You’ve gotten everyone relaxed, now speak,” she said, a threat hidden in her voice. Blaise had forgotten about the note, playing against Draco had completely distracted him. Draco smirked, knowing he had manipulating Blaise – for good cause – but without him realising.

“Okay,” Blaise clapped his hands, getting everyone’s attention who hadn’t been watching him. “I imagine all of you have seen the new notice on the board. It’s come to my attention that we’re learning  _ nothing  _ practical in the current DADA class. Naturally, this means we need to take matters into our own hands. I’ve figured that we could start our own group that would look into spells that may be important for our future. Some spells will be for defence, some will be for offence, and some might even be for healing or other helpful spells. This is a ‘study group’ according to Umbridge for research involving all year levels.”

“So, who’s in?” Tracey called out, “We don’t care about your year, age, or stance on anything. We’re practising spells and learning, nothing else doesn’t matter. If you want to join, simply write down your name on this page. This way we can contact you if we change the room where we work.” Tracey waved a piece of parchment in the air, and multiple people walked over to her.

“You don’t have to do it now,” Blaise called out. “Tracey can leave the parchment out, that way we don’t have to waste time. In fact, we can discuss times now. We thought that after lunch on Saturdays and Sundays, along with after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays, would work out best. Does anyone have any issues with this?” No one spoke up and Blaise grinned, “Trace, could you go clear out the hallway? I’ll take this lot to the locker through the fireplace.”

“Fireplace?” Someone called out, “What do you mean through the fireplace?”

“Surely you know that there are many secrets in Hogwarts. Slytherin ensured we had our own, but they haven’t been mentioned in any records we’ve found.” Daphne said as Blaise went through the same ritual as last night; using the fireplace poker to make the original fireplace go up and the other one appear. “Follow Blaise, he’ll take you to the locker.” 

Blaise walked through the illusion wall, barely withholding his snickers when thinking about the faces of the other Slytherins. None had known about the secret passage. The painting swung open just as Blaise reached it, revealing Tracey standing there with a smile. Blaise walked out and almost the entire Slytherin house followed him. Blaise opened the locker and pushed the false panelling open, before walking through once more. Eventually, Blaise reached the room and spun around with a smile. Adrian, Terence, Vaisey, Tracey, Daphne, and Blaise had spent the last two days working on the room. Couches, cushions, and blankets had been added. They had also shelves with a number of books. However, there was more space for more books as the six had only had little time to gather everything. One wall was covered in stuck up parchment, each having a spell and information on said spell, including books that would contain more information.

“Here’s the plan, on that wall,” Blaise said, pointing at the parchment-covered wall, “there are a number of spells we feel would be useful to know. Each parchment has a spell, with what year level it roughly could be taught to. Naturally, some of these spells aren’t taught at all. We figured that you could get in groups by year levels or friends to practise. If you need help, ask an older student.”

“If you need any more incentive to participate, remember that the other three houses have combined to form a ‘secret and unknown’ group to practise. The least we could do is usurp them,” Tracey called out.

“I don’t suppose you’ve organised us a name as well?” Someone called out with a laugh.

“I didn’t think we were juvenile enough to want a name,” Blaise replied. The majority of the Slytherins laughed, and Blaise felt his shoulders relax. 

“Vipers!” Another person shouted. Blaise searched the crowd to spot the person – it was Martha, the first year that had started him on this path. “We should call ourselves the Vipers, and I’m juvenile to want a name. Besides, this way we can talk and no one will know.”

“Vipers it is,” Adrian chimed up cheerfully from where he was sitting on a couch.

“It is important that the entrances remain a secret, I suggest you all learn the human-presence-revealing spell and use it before leaving. The incantation is  _ homenum revelio, _ ” Terence said, having the crowd part to get to the front of everyone where Blaise was standing. He faced the other Slytherins and repeated the incantation with the wand movement. Blaise had managed to get a good grasp on the spell the day before, so he was happy to not work on it again. The Slytherins split into multiple groups and Blaise found himself leaning on Daphne in relief. 

“We did it, can you believe that?” Daphne smiled. 

“We’re Slytherins, of course we did it.” Blaise laughed. 

“What spell do we want to work on? I mean, all three of us have gotten the human-presence-revealing spell done.”

“You can never have enough practise,” Daphne responded. Tracey stuck her tongue out.

“You so can. Anyway, I’m interesting in the Patronus charm, especially in what it could be.”

“It’ll probably be a dog, cat, or a horse. Patronuses tend to be a common animal,” Blaise said, remembering reading about it the other day.

“We’ll never know until we try!” Tracey said with a cheer, “Now, focus on a happy memory… What counts as a happy memory though?” Daphne sighed and pulled her wand out. 

“ _ Expecto patronum _ ,” she said loudly, wand moving in a swirl-like shape. A silver mist came out of her wand, forming a circular shield in front of her. With a flick of her wand, Daphne let the incorporeal Patronus fade. “It needs to be quite strong,” she commented, “It can’t be tinged with any other emotion besides happiness. Knowing that I would have a sister isn’t strong enough, but I think it needs to be something that ties into the core of your personality.” Tracey hummed. 

“ _ Expecto patronum _ !” There was a burst of silver light before it faded and nothing else happened. “Damn,” Tracey cursed, “You going to try Blaise?” Blaise thought of a memory, before recalling a memory of a Christmas when his mother had been home. 

“ _ Expecto patronum _ ,” he said, voice blending in with the din around him. “Nothing,” Blaise said with a shrug, “I need a stronger memory.” Out of the three of them, Daphne was the first to get a corporeal patronus eighteen minutes later. Daphne grinned as she guided her patronus to fly above the room. The patronus came to a stop in front of her, silver wings flapping gently. Daphne let it fade, turning to look at Tracey and Blaise. 

“A magpie,” she said with a laugh.

“I’m not even surprised,” Tracey said, pale green eyes twinkling. “Magpies do hoard things after all.” Daphne pushed Tracey gently.

“Be nice to me.” Blaise laughed at the pair, before thinking of a memory that might just be happy enough. 

“ _ Expecto patronum _ ,” he whispered, his wand circling in the air. At first, Blaise frowned, seeing nothing had happened. Then, Blaise spotted silver mist on the ground, seeming to pull together and start forming a creature.

“You did it,” Daphne said, startling Blaise who looked away from his forming corporeal Patronus. “What is it?” Blaise glanced back at the fully formed patronus, and wondered how he had managed to get such an odd creature. It was the same creature he had seen in the Forbidden Forest earlier – a Thestral. 

“It’s a Thestral,” Blaise murmured, watching as the winged creature stretched out its wings.

Blaise jerked his wand and the patronus disappeared. 

“What’s the problem with that?” Tracey asked, seeing conflicted expression on Blaise’s face.

“Thestrals can only be seen by someone who’s seen death, and they’re omens for death. Sure, they’re rare patronuses and all that, but I would prefer to be overlooked here,” Blaise replied.

“At least you’re getting the spell to work,” Tracey muttered. “What memory did you two use?”

“The first time my sister told me ‘I love you,’” Daphne said with a soft smile.

“I used the memory of meeting you two on the train in second year,” Blaise said as the pair looked at him. Tracey waved her wand and mouthed the words to herself. A moment later, she straightened herself. 

“ _ Expecto patronum _ ,” she said, concentrating fiercely on a memory attempting to leave her mind. In a burst of explosive movement, a silver form fled away from Tracey’s wand. “I did it!” Tracey shouted happily, watching the bird fly around the room.

“A robin,” Daphne said, “Unsurprising. After all, robins tend to flit around doing nothing.” Tracey laughed, not even insulted. 

“Hush you,” she said, watching the patronus.

“Two spells down,” Blaise said with a smile, “Too many left to go.”

**

Somehow, it takes Blaise a week to run himself ragged to the verge of breaking down. Of course, it was a week filled with worrying about the Vipers, Umbridge, and schoolwork. Fifth year was turning out to be a terribly hard year. 

Blaise wandered down to Hagrid’s hut. He hadn’t really been planning on going towards the half giant’s area. It wasn’t as if Blaise hated Hagrid or even held any dislike for the large being. It was just more Slytherin politics. It also had to do with the dislike Hagrid held for most Slytherins, the same that most teachers held for the Slytherin house. The small fenced pen behind Hagrid’s hut was currently holding a Thestral. A quick look around showed that no one was nearby, and so Blaise walked to the edge of the pen. The Thestral was small, and it raced at Blaise when he stood near the fence. Blaise backed away as the Thestral snapped its jaws close and reared up on its back legs.

Blaise was a Slytherin, and his worst flaw was that he was stubborn. Blaise was never going to be one who backed down from a challenge. Blaise stepped forward to the fence and blew out through his teeth, attempting to replicate the sound he knew Thestrals made, all Blaise got was something that sounded like a whistle. The Thestral shrieked and Blaise tried again, this time blowing sharper. The sound that came was shrill and sudden, causing the Thestral to toss its head. It raced around the pen, this time ignoring Blaise. 

Blaise leaned against the wooden fence, watching the black creature race around. From what he had seen, and read, Thestrals were social creatures. They lived in herds. So why was this one being kept locked up? The Thestral lifted its wings, and Blaise could see a cut underneath its wing. Blaise let out a shrill whistle again, seeing if the Thestral would come any closer and investigate. The Thestral did come closer; however, when Blaise reached out to touch its skin it shied sideways and almost bit off his hand.

Blaise checked his hand and was pleased to find the creature’s fangs hadn’t scratched him. The Thestral let sniffed the air and trotted away from Blaise, uninterested due to a lack of food. Blaise walked down the fence to where the Thestral was standing, facing the Forbidden Forest. Unnoticed, or maybe just ignored, Blaise reached out to the Thestral and stroked its neck. The Thestral snaked its head around to bite Blaise. However, Blaise managed to slap the young Thestral on the nose in protest. The Thestral tossed its head but ignored Blaise, turning to face the Forbidden Forest once more. Blaise continued stroking the beast’s neck, gently teasing apart the knots in its mane. After five or so minutes, the Thestral moved away from the fence, and let out a piercing cry. Blaise whistled shrilly in response, and the Thestral looked to him before pawing the ground and looking away.

“Yer can see ‘em?” Came a question from behind him, Blaise whirled around, hand going to his wand. “O’ course yeh can, silly question. Didn’t yeh say yeh couldn’t?” Hagrid loomed a few steps away from Blaise. Blaise nodded wordlessly before adopting a haughty look. 

“I didn’t say I could earlier as I didn’t want to prolong the lesson any longer than necessary.” Hagrid scowled and Blaise ignored the uncomfortable feeling in his stomach.

“O’ course yeh didn’t, yeh and yer kind…” Hagrid trailed off and shook his head.

“My kind?” Blaise said, feeling offended by the half-giant’s words. Hagrid nodded. 

“Slytherins. The lot o’ yeh, don’t know why yeh bothered ter take this class.” Blaise shifted his feet, aware that he was planning to continue taking this class. 

“Maybe we don’t appreciate the dislike and hatred we receive from most teachers?” He offered, knowing that he shouldn’t really be saying anything. Hagrid watched the Thestral in the pen. It was now racing around. 

“Maybe yeh do deserve an apology… I think I deserve one ter.” Blaise tilted his head in thought.

“Why is the Thestral kept away from the others?” He said, shifting the conversation.

“He ‘urt himself a few days ago. Got ‘imself caught on something left lying about. He now has a cut under his wing, leaves him unable to fly properly. I’ve got to stop ‘im from flying somehow.” Hagrid replied, “He ain’t very helpful. He’s one of the wilder Thestrals; I haven’t been able ter train ‘im, bin thinking of givin’ up. Might just let ‘im run wild, he’s getting a bit too old to train now.”

“He doesn’t seem that wild,” Blaise responded, watching the Thestral stand still. “He let me touch him before.”

“Before or after ‘e tried ter bite you? This one’s a nasty critter – make no mistake. He’s just a bit ter wild ter live at Hogwarts. I’ve bin thinking of letting ‘im go ter a reserve,” Hagrid murmured. “Seeing yer trying to make friends with ‘im, yeh might as well fed ‘im. He might come ter yeh that way,” Hagrid said, handing Blaise a raw steak. Blaise grimaced, “Just walk into the paddock, he’ll have ter come ter yeh, doesn’t work the other way around.” Blaise navigated his way through a gate and into the field. The Thestral was now paying attention to him, specifically on the hand holding the steak. Blaise whistled quietly to the Thestral, which drifted closer to him. Blaise threw the steak in the air towards the Thestral. The Thestral snapped the steak up and quickly ate it. 

The Thestral then walked over to Blaise, sniffed his robes and hand. When the young Thestral figured Blaise had no more food, he started licking the student’s hand, cleaning it of blood. Blaise rested his other hand on the creature’s neck, gently rubbing. The Thestral tilted his head as Blaise scratched a spot behind his ear. 

“Do you like that?” Blaise asked, scratching a bit harder and causing the Thestral to stretch its head into the air with a sigh of pleasure. Blaise smiled and stepped back, exiting the paddock. 

“He likes yeh,” Hagrid said sounding surprised. Blaise scowled and Hagrid held up a hand, “I don’t mean anythin’ by it. However, if yeh want ter help out with training ‘im, yeh should come down on Sunday mornings.” Blaise tossed a longing glance at the beautiful creature, warring with himself. He eventually settled for a nod, he would decide on Sunday. Blaise wiped his hand on his robes, thankful that no one had seen him interacting with the Thestral or Hagrid. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would love some reviews. I have kudos, though. That's pretty epic!


	6. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Slytherins, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs, oh my! (Actually, it's more like run away, not everyone backs away from a dare...).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't managed to speak to my editor (beta?) recently... I'll try and check in with them soon, I'm giving you this chapter anyway, although it hasn't been edited. I'm starting to investigate looking deeper into magic and spell creation... It'll be interesting to see what people think of my making up of ideas.

“You’re a doofus,” were the words Blaise woke up to hear. Blaise opened his eyes and tried to make sense of the blurry figure in front of him.

“Trace?” He questioned, slowly warming his brain up to working.

Tracey nodded, “You somehow managed to miss breakfast, and classes start in roughly twenty minutes.”

Blaise pushed himself up and swore, “You couldn’t have woken me up beforehand?”

“I thought you would get up by yourself, you didn’t seem incapable of doing that,” Tracey replied.

Blaise ignored her as he quickly gathered his things before pausing, “Wait, I could’ve sworn it was Friday yesterday.”

“Drat,” Tracey said with a pout, “I was hoping you would forget that fact.”

Blaise looked at his bed mournfully, “I hate you.”

Tracey grinned, “No you don’t, now get up and dressed. I feel like I haven’t seen you in years.”

“You’ve been busy with Daphne the past week, and I’ve been quite busy myself,” Blaise grumbled.

“Aww, have you missed me?”

“I have but for who knows what reason, I’m unused to the silence,” Blaise returns easily enough.

Tracey ignores him as she bounces on his neatly made bed. “Hurry up,” Tracey says, ignoring Blaise’s grimace as she crinkles the blankets.

Blaise returns to a half ruined bed and a sheepish Daphne and Tracey. Blaise rolls his eyes and ignores the duo, folding his clothes and stacking them in his trunk. “What are we doing today?”

“You’re spending your time mourning the sleep you lost,” Tracey smirked.

“We’ll be having fun,” Daphne said, completely ignoring Tracey’s input.

“We’re meeting up the other Slytherins and playing truth or dare, it should be fun!” Tracey said.

Blaise groaned, “Something’s going to go wrong and it’ll be on me, or everyone will gang up on me and I should go die in a corner to save myself the humiliation.”

“Don’t worry, that’s not the only game we’re playing,” Daphne said, aiming to make Blaise feel better.

“You know, that would probably be comforting if we weren’t all Slytherins. Any game we play just gets way too intense,” Blaise responded with a snort. “That aside, I don’t need anything do I?”

Daphne shook her head, “Hurry up,” Tracey said, bounding out of the dorm, “Everyone will be there before us!”

“Oh, that’s the worst,” Daphne said drily, sharing an amused smile with Blaise. Blaise rolled his eyes and followed the pair out of the dorm.

“Where are we going and who’s going to be there?” Blaise questioned.

“We’re playing in the normal place. As for who’s there… Tracey organised it.”

“So, I should expect no one there?”

“Hey, I’m perfectly capable of fooling people into spending time with us!” Tracey said.

“Fooling? You mean blackmail; you blackmailed Slytherins into a game of truth and dare.” Blaise said flatly.

“You’ve got the Prince’s group – minus his bodyguards – along with Vaisey, Adrian, Terence, Astoria, and Millicent. I also managed to get some people I sort of know from other houses,” Tracey said, completely ignoring Blaise.

“They’re not bodyguards,” Daphne muttered, knowing it was pointless to try and change Tracey’s mind.

“Ha, first here!” Tracey yelled.

“Not quite,” someone said from the corner, causing Tracey to jump as Blaise and Daphne strolled in.

Tracey swore at Astoria who grinned at her older sister’s friend. “I brought a few of my friends along from Ravenclaw, I hope you don’t mind.”

Tracey pouted, “You could at least apologise to me,” she whined as Astoria looked to Daphne in question.

“Except, I’m not sorry,” Astoria replied.

“That’s fine Tori,” Daphne told her sister. “When are they getting here?”

Astoria shrugged, “Soon at a guess. Now, you might want to move, you’re blocking the doorway.”

Blaise sat down on the ground, deciding he couldn’t be bothered standing to wait on the others. Shortly afterwards, a trio of Slytherins – Pansy, Nott, and Draco – entered the room. Draco quickly sat down next to Blaise, just moving slowly enough to make it appear he wasn’t running from Nott.

Blaise smothered his rising laughter. He turned to face the Ice Prince. “It is good to see you,” Blaise greeted.

Draco tilted his head in agreement, “Indeed, Nott has been extremely… vocal without your presence nearby.”

“I suppose that has made things interesting,” Blaise responded. Draco hummed in agreement, “I am surprised he remains friends with you.”

Draco eyed Blaise carefully, “He will mature when he is older.”

Four Ravenclaws entered the room, with a two Slytherins trailing after them. Draco’s mouth shifted into a frown. Astoria, on the other hand, grinned. “Jason, Marcus, Lisa, Millicent, Sue, Bridget, it’s good to see you could make it.”

One of the Ravenclaws – a fourteen-year-old boy – grinned at Astoria. “I was glad to get out of doing charms homework. Lisa and I had to drag Marcus and Sue from their piles of books.”

One of the female Ravenclaws scowled, “I was busy,” she protested.

Two Hufflepuffs entered the room, “Are we late?”

Daphne shook her head, “We’re still waiting on two others. I’m surprised that they’re late.”

As if they had been called, Vaisey, Adrian, and Terence entered the room. “It was Terence’s fault,” Vaisey and Adrian said simultaneously.

Terence pouted, “It was not!”

With a roll of his eyes Vaisey spoke, “It was so.”

“Don’t bother arguing Terence; you know we’re right here. Anyway, what’s the plan?” Adrian said.

Tracey grinned and sat down next to Draco. “We’re playing a game of truth and dare!”

Pansy grinned, all teeth and all threat, “I do love a good game of truth and dare.”

“This is such a bad idea,” Blaise groaned, before catching one of the eye of one of the Ravenclaws. “You should run while you still can.”

The student laughed, “This will be the most fun I’ve had all week.”

Everyone sat down in a circle, with Draco sitting on Blaise’s left and a Ravenclaw sitting on Blaise’s right. “I’ll start,” Tracey announced. “Daphne, truth or dare?”

“Dare,” Daphne stated lazily, looking unconcerned.

“I’ll be nice to start with,” Tracey said, “I dare you to sit on… Pansy’s lap for one round.”

Daphne sat on Pansy, “Sorry Pansy. I’m sure someone will get Tracey back for you.” Pansy rolled her eyes at Tracey. “Okay, Heidi, truth or dare?”

“Truth,” the Hufflepuff said.

“Who’s the person you would most like to go on a date with in this room?” Daphne asked.

Heidi looked around the room, “Hmm… It’d be between Malfoy and Samuels.” Draco looked smug beside Blaise, who remedied that with a hidden elbow to the ribs. “Megan, truth or dare?”

“Truth,” the other Hufflepuff girl said quietly.

“What house would you be in, if not Hufflepuff?”

Megan shrugged, “Ravenclaw or Gryffindor. Astoria, truth or dare?”

“Dare.”

“I dare you to change your hair colour to bright pink for the rest of the game unless dared otherwise,” Megan said with a smirk.

Astoria sighed but nodded, and one of the Ravenclaws used a spell to change her hair colour. “Blaise, truth or dare.”

“I’m going to regret this,” Blaise muttered, “Dare.”

“I dare you to lick the floor.”

Blaise glared at the ground, “That’s so unhygienic,” he said just before doing it. “Now, Millicent, truth or dare?”

“Truth,” the girl said with an impish look.

“Who would you least like to go out with in this room?”

“Tracey,” Millicent said after a beat, ignoring Tracey’s wounded expression. “She would take so much effort to keep up with.”

Blaise chuckled, “That’s so true!” Daphne crowed over Tracey’s protests.

“Pansy, truth or dare?” Millicent asked, looking over at the Slytherin.

“Truth,” Pansy said, looking disgruntled with Daphne still in her lap.

“Who would you kill, marry, and shag out of Nott, Malfoy, and… Samuels?” Millicent asked with a sly grin.

“Shag Malfoy, kill Nott, and marry Samuels,” Pansy said easily. “Marcus, truth or dare?”

“Dare,” the Ravenclaw replied.

“I dare you to ask Potter for his signature,” Pansy said with a grin.

“Now, or am I allowed to do it later?” Marcus asked.

“You can do it later,” Pansy confirmed, “As long as someone here gets to see it.”

Marcus nodded before turning to his housemate, “Jason, truth or dare?”

“Truth,” came the quick response, and Blaise felt himself relaxing as it became clear that no one was going to start a fight.

“What Hogwarts house do you hate the most?”

“Gryffindor,” came the automatic response. Everyone looked at him in surprise, having expected him to have said the red house. “I mean, I always get frustrated that they do one heroic thing and get points for it. If anyone else did that, we’d lose points for breaking the rules!”

Blaise leant against a table leg and laughed, a few others laughed as well. “I can tell you’ve thought about it a lot,” another Ravenclaw said, teasing the boy.

“For that Sue, I’ll think up the worst option I can. Truth or dare?” Jason Samuels asked.

“I’m so scared,” Sue replied with a wicked grin, “Dare.”

Jason stared at Sue before slouching, “You’d get me back twice as badly if I did anything bad, I’ll have to choose a good dare.”

“I would,” Sue said, raising one eyebrow, “I’m disappointed I don’t have a reason to get you back though.”

“I dare you to kiss Lisa,” Jason grumbled. “Kiss your girlfriend already,” he said when Sue hesitated.

Sue gave Lisa a quick kiss, and Blaise noticed none of the Ravenclaws seemed particularly surprised. “At Hogwarts, it’s as if everyone is straight,” one of the Hufflepuffs explained.

Daphne was quick to reply as the atmosphere turned slightly uncomfortable, “It’s not that. It’s the fact that there’s a lot of bigotry going on in the wizarding world about that. Especially in pureblood families, and a lot of pureblood parents put pressure on their child to pick someone of the opposite gender to produce an heir, or arrange a marriage.”

The Hufflepuff, Bridget, scowled. “That’s stupid,” she muttered, “I don’t suppose anyone here is going to make a big deal of it?”

Astoria shook her head, “No point starting a fight. We won’t say anything about it either, I can promise you guys that.”

“Thanks,” Lisa said quietly, linking hands with her girlfriend.

“Anyway,” Tracey said with a clap of her hands, “Back to the game. Sue, I believe it was your turn?”

“Terence, truth or dare?” The Ravenclaw said.

“I’m putting my trust in your hands,” the older Slytherin said, “Dare.”

“I dare you to go out into the corridor and scream chicken,” Sue said with a smirk.

Terence shook his head, “I’m not going to do that. What if Peeves saw? Or worse, Snape?”

“Are you refusing to do it?” Sue asked. Terence hesitated before nodding his head. “What happens if you don’t do a dare?”

“Strip,” Adrian called out, eyes alight in amusement. Terence took off his shoes, and Adrian groaned. “Of course you would get around that, it’s meant to be embarrassing!”

“Slytherin,” Terence reminded. “Anyway, Bridget, truth or dare?”

“Dare.”

“I dare you to sing one verse and chorus of a song,” Terence said.

The Hufflepuff did so, reciting one verse of some muggle song that Blaise had heard over the break. “Vaisey, truth or dare?”

“I’m going with truth, as it’s my belief that all Hufflepuffs are secretly devious people,” the Slytherin replied.

“If you could only save one person, aside from yourself, in this room. Who would it be?”

Vaisey looked around, “Adrian,” he said.

“What about me?” Terence whined.

“I’m sorry Terence,” Vaisey said, looking like he was going to cry, “but Adrian is my true love. We are soulmates.”

“Adrian,” Terence said, turning to look at his friend, “How could you do this to me?”

“I-” Adrian was cut off by Tracey who made a face at the trio of friends.

“You guys are losers,” she informed them.

Vaisey scowled, “Tracey, truth or dare.”

“Truth,” Tracey said with a wary look.

Vaisey, Terence, and Adrian had a quick whispered discussion. “Where is your most ticklish spot?” Vaisey eventually said.

“My feet,” Tracey responded. “Nott, truth or dare?”

Theodore Nott looked at Tracey with a dull expression. “Truth.”

“What do you want to be when you’re older?”

“Minister of Magic,” Nott responded.

“Make a note, don’t ever let Nott become Minister of Magic,” Blaise whispered to Draco. “Can you imagine it? He’d accidently ban magic.”

Draco hid a snicker, and made sure to keep his face blank when Nott looked at him suspiciously. “Malfoy, truth or dare?”

“Truth,” Draco said with a sneer, not looking at all troubled.

“Who do you think would be your right hand out of this lot?”

Draco a show of glancing around at everyone. “Pansy,” he decided, “Adrian, truth or dare?”

“Dare,” came the Slytherin’s response.

“I dare you to kiss Tracey,” Draco said, letting amusement show on his face when he caught Tracey’s horrified expression.

“I’m going to pass on that one,” Adrian said, “I don’t feel like dying today.” He removed his outer robe, leaving him in jeans and his long sleeve top. “I suppose it’s the next round now. So, Heidi, truth or dare?”

**

Blaise met Daphne’s eyes across the room, and raised his shoulders in a shrug. Daphne glared at him and walked over. “You aren’t very helpful,” she told her classmate. “I’m trying to choose what spell we should work on and you haven’t even looked at them. What’s on your mind?”

Blaise blinked, “Sorry,” he apologised, knowing he couldn’t reveal what was on his mind. He wasn’t sure how Daphne would react if he told her he was debating whether to help Hagrid out with a Thestral or not.

Daphne rolled her eyes, but nodded. “Okay, what spell should we work on? Tracey’s attempting to annoy Nott so he annoys Malfoy in revenge for earlier.”

Blaise’s lips curved up in a smile, “I wonder if that’ll backfire on her.”

“Of course it will, she forgot Pansy will then get frustrated with Malfoy and attack Tracey in retribution,” Daphne responded. “Now, choose a spell, go.”

“Let’s revise Protego,” Blaise decided.

“We learnt that years ago,” Daphne said. She swiped her wand down, “Protego.” A shiny barrier formed between her and Blaise. She twisted her wand and the shield disappeared. “See? Easy.”

“Do it again,” Blaise said, “and let me try something.”

Daphne nodded, “Protego!” The moment the shield sprung up, Blaise shoved at it with his hands and it faltered before failing. “Fine,” Daphne said, “You’ve made your point. They have their weak points, but don’t all spells?”

Blaise nodded, “Yeah, but Protego has derived spells that are better. The Protego version is the weakest one, hence we learn it early during our schooling years.” Blaise frowned, and waved his wand, “Protego Duo!” A transparent shield quickly arose in front of Blaise. “On the other hand, this spell is stronger and should hold up to physical and magical attacks. For both versions, you can add–”

“Fianto Duri,” Daphne interrupted with a grin. “That hardens the shield,” she frowned, “How would you combine Protego Duo with Protego Maxima? Perhaps Maxima Protego Duo?”

Blaise shrugged, “I don’t know. Does anyone combine the two? Or would you cast one after the other like when using Protego and Fianto Duri?”

“In other words, we would have to research this before attempting it,” Daphne grumbled. “I don’t want to attempt a spell only for it to blow up in face – literally.”

“Argh, research, that sounds like a reason for me to leave,” Tracey said, seeming to appear out of nowhere.

Daphne jumped back while Blaise swore in surprise. “Don’t do that,” Blaise said.

Tracey smirked, “But seriously, don’t do research. Get someone else to do it for you.”

“Like who?” Daphne asked, “The Slytherins will know we’re up to something, considering we’re friends with you and all that.”

“Ahh, but the Ravenclaws remain largely unknowing,” Tracey said with a smirk. “Despite the fact you’re a Slytherin, they can still be convinced to help. Of course, that’s only if it interests them.”


	7. Chapter Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thestrals, Research, and another step-father. Blaise manages in life, although he doesn't mind getting some help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait guys, hope you enjoy.

Blaise paused before knocking on the door of Hagrid’s hut. There was a loud howl and Blaise withdrew slightly, his hand inching towards his wand. There was a bang before Blaise heard footsteps. “Back Fang, back,” Hagrid commanded, before pushing open the door. Blaise stepped backwards, and Hagrid slammed the door closed behind him.

“I moved the Thestral into one o’ the forest paddocks. They’re a bit bigger and I thought ‘e would like a bit more room ter run.” Hagrid frowned and peered down at Blaise, “Yer ‘ere for the Thestral, right?”

Blaise nodded, “As long as you haven’t taken back your offer,” he replied.

“Why would I do that?” Hagrid asked in confusion, “That’d be downright nasty. I ain’t like that. Now, follow me please.”

Blaise fell into step behind Hagrid, warily watching around him as the forest hid Hogwarts from view. “Yer perfectly safe with me,” Hagrid murmured after a moment of silence.

“I’m sure I am,” Blaise snapped back without thinking. He frowned and quickly thought over his words. “Sorry,” he eventually said, “I’ve heard rumours regarding the Forbidden Forest.”

Hagrid nodded, “I understand. I was a student meself. ‘O course, that was some time ago.”

“You were a student at Hogwarts?” Blaise asked before he could stop himself. “Were you offered the job immediately after finishing school?”

Hagrid came to an abrupt halt. “I was expelled,” he muttered, “Dumbledore was kind and offered me the job.”

“Oh,” Blaise said. He didn’t know what else to say.

Hagrid hurried forward, “It was a long time ago. I got o’er it. Now, just o’er ‘ere is where I put ‘im.”

Blaise came to a stop by the fence; the Thestral was pacing up and down in the middle of the field. Blaise whistled, allowing the shrill noise to trail off as the Thestral approached. The Thestral pawed the ground a few metres away from the fence.

Blaise grinned at the creature, which snorted and walked off. He turned to face Hagrid who had a soft smile on his face. “What do you want me to do?”

Hagrid coughed into his hand and shifted. “Right, o’ course. I was thinking we’d start slow. See if you can get close without losin’ a chunk.”

The black horse-like creature let out an ear-splitting cry. “Do you have any ideas on how I could manage that?”

“Call ‘im over, get ‘im used to you. Try ter get ‘im used to you touchin’ ‘im, especially on ‘is face. Might be able to get a ‘eadcollar on ‘im,” Hagrid instructed.

Blaise whistled and the Thestral slowly got closer to the fence. Eventually coming to a stop next to Blaise. Blaise reached out towards the Thestral, which snapped at him but didn’t really come close to biting him. Blaise smiled softly and stroked the creature’s bony neck.

“I’ll be stunned,” Hagrid said, he handed a simple headcollar over to Blaise. “You might as well go in with ‘im, you’ve managed to get ‘im ter listen ter you. More than I’ve managed. Just watch yerself, you ‘ear?”

Blaise nodded and climbed over the fence. The Thestral shifted away from the fence, eyeing the object in Blaise’s hand. Blaise whistled softly and the Thestral dipped its head as it whistled back. Blaise approached and the Thestral stood completely still. The Thestral shook his head and allowed Blaise to stroke his face.

“‘E’s temperamental, but a gentle soul,” Hagrid commented. “Problem was ‘e didn’t allow me ter get close.”

“How could you tell he was gentle, then?” Blaise asked as he got the Thestral used to the touch of the rope headcollar.

Hagrid shrugged, “It’s all in the way they act, innit? How they act among themselves and with ‘em other creatures too. This one’s always seemed a bit wild, but ‘e’s stayed with the ‘erd.”

“Do some of them leave?” Blaise asked as he slipped the noseband over the Thestral’s nose, quickly tightening the other strap that went behind the creature’s ears. The Thestral leapt away from Blaise, just missing kicking the Hogwarts student.

Blaise scrambled away from the Thestral as it darted around the paddock. Hagrid nodded, and Blaise turned to look at him. “Some of ‘em do just up and fly, but most stay. Majority will come back for a few days each year. I was surprised that this one stayed…”

Blaise raised an eyebrow, sensing that Hagrid had more to say. “And now…?” He prompted.

“Now, I reckon ‘e was just a one-rider Thestral. We never get many of ‘em,” Hagrid replied as the Thestral skidded to a stop beside Blaise. “The ones we do get normally leave,” Hagrid finished. “Those ones rarely come back. We ‘aven’t gotten one for quite a few years, almost forgotten about the possibility.”

Blaise frowned and tried to remember what he knew of Thestrals. Hagrid seemed to catch his confusion and was quick to explain. “Some Thestrals will bond ter a certain person. No one knows ‘ow it works, but it does. It’s thought it ‘as somethin’ ter do with magic.”

“How do they know, though?” Blaise questioned as he gently rubbed the Thestral’s head.

“See if you can lead ‘im around,” Hagrid suggested before answering, “‘M not sure, not really one of those studyin’ types.”

Blaise gently tugged the Thestral so it was walking beside him. Hagrid watched him for a moment before talking again, “You worked with Thestrals before?”

Blaise hummed for a second before replying, “I was on a holiday out of Europe with my… family. I was allowed to do my own thing, which ended up being helping a friend with the Thestrals that their family owned.”

Hagrid nodded and didn’t say anything, only watching Blaise as he led the Thestral around. The Thestral appeared to be growing bored of the constant walking, and kept dancing sideways. “How long do you think it’ll take to get him working with the others?” Blaise eventually asked, struggling with getting the Thestral to walk beside him.

“Normally depends on the Thestral. I doubt we’ll get this one working. Like I said, ‘e’s probably a one-rider Thestral. It’ll stick with ‘is rider.”

“Who’s his rider?”

Hagrid stared at Blaise, who simply blinked in confusion. “Why, I thought that’d be obvious. It’s you. ‘E only let you get near, no one else. Now, you might as well let ‘im go for a bit. Leave the ‘eadcollar on for ‘im to get used too.”

Blaise nodded and let go of the headcollar, allowing the Thestral to run off. The Thestral bucked and sped off, circling the paddock. “Are you ‘appy to meet by my ‘ouse in a week?”

“Yes,” Blaise decided before fidgeting, “but would you mind saying I’m doing it for a detention?”

Hagrid peered down at Blaise as he climbed over the fence. An understanding expression came over his face. “You shouldn’t attempt ter cast a jinx at yer classmates behind their backs.”

“Thank you,” Blaise said sincerely.

******

Blaise walked between the isles of the library, feeling very small in comparison to the gigantic bookshelves. Blaise had found himself in the Reference Section of the library. Blaise stopped before one shelf, scanning titles for one that might be helpful. Getting to the lower shelves, more books that looked similar to what Blaise needed started appearing.

“Excuse me,” Blaise said, nudging a student who was asleep in front of the bottom shelf.

The student sat up, wiping a hand over her face. Blaise withheld a frown when observing the student’s appearance. She was a Ravenclaw, and her robes were all crumbled from her sleeping position. “What is it?” The girl asked, looking up at Blaise through brown eyes.

Blaise stopped himself from crossing arms – forming a barrier between him and the rest of the world. Blaise had come into the library without his Slytherin robes, figuring it would be easier to find his books without being looked upon with suspicion. “You’re in front of the books I need.”

“Oh,” the girl replied. “Did you see a trio of Ravenclaws anywhere?”

Blaise shook his head, “No, but they might’ve been out of sight.”

“What time is it?” The girl asked, gathering up three books and standing up.

“Sometime before lunch, I think,” Blaise replied with a shrug.

“They’ll have gone, then,” the girl figured. “What are you looking for?”

“Books on spell creation or how to combine spells,” Blaise replied, scanning the bottom shelf for a book that look helpful.

“What spells? Maybe I can help; I’ve been looking into spell creation for a while. It’s quite intriguing,” the girl said. “My name’s Rosalyn Jackson.”

“Blaise Zabini,” came the response. “Shield charm, or a derivation of it. Trying to combine maxima and duo.”

There was a minute of silence and Blaise pulled out a book. “I don’t think there’s a spell for that, which doesn’t actually surprise me. Most wizards and witches wouldn’t consider a physical attack might occur. Do you have the incantation yet?”

Blaise shook his head and followed the student to an empty desk. “I was thinking possibly having protego duo maxima,” Blaise said.

“That wouldn’t work. Spells only have less word once they’ve been refined. That might work later on, but right now, you want a complex incantation so you – and your magic – knows exactly what its doing. What you want is the largest shield you can manage that is strong against physical and magical attacks. Therefore, your incantation should be exactly that in Latin.”

“I take it you do well in schoolwork?” Blaise responded with a half-grimace, “I didn’t know any of that.”

Rosalyn smirked, “No, I do horribly in schoolwork because I learn this as procrastination. My friends had actually dragged me in here to do some schoolwork, but I got away. And fell asleep, which was because I stayed up all night reading. Don’t do that, it’s a bad idea.”

“Right…” Blaise said, “I don’t know much Latin, though. I have friends who could help, but they’re probably busy. Do you happen to know what the incantation should be?”

Rosalyn nodded, “Your best bet would probably be maxima protego et fortis physica oppugnationes magicae. The translation being large shield strong against physical and magical attacks. That should do the trick. The real question would be about the wand movement.”

Blaise opened his book to the index, “I suppose this means I’ll need to do some research, then.”

 “We’ll need to do some research,” Rosalyn said, and Blaise looked up at her. She flicked open one book, “You’ve gotten me interested.”

“Do you know anything regarding wand movements?” Blaise asked.

“It’s got something to do with ancient magic, old magic. You don’t hear much about it nowadays. What is known is mainly from old artefacts or hidden in ruins. As we’re using a Latin incantation, we’d be looking for the old magic from where Latin originated,” Rosalyn responded.

“Would it be easier to use a language other than Latin?” Blaise questioned.

“Latin’s mainly used by European witches and wizards. There are some English incantations, but they’re more of a new development. Latin is easiest to use because it’s close to English and so the pronunciation is easier. However, if you compare to Egyptian spells, they’re a bit trickier because some spells are from the older version of the language while some are from the newer version of the language.”

“So, Latin it is,” Blaise said and Rosalyn nodded in agreement. “Do you know any spells that aren’t in Latin or English?”

Rosalyn shook her head, “They’re not often taught to outsiders. There’s information in books, of course, but you need an actual instructor. The pronunciation is a problem, but so the wand movements. Sometimes the spell strength is quite different from the Latin variation. It’s a lot safer to have someone teach you.”

“How many books have you read on this?” Blaise asked.

Rosalyn offered the Slytherin a half-grin. “Well, I’ve been at this school for five years and my procrastination skills have only grown.”

A chime ran through the library, and Blaise shut his book, knowing that lunch had now started. “Do you want to meet up again in order to discuss our findings?” He asked.

The Ravenclaw nodded, “Sure thing, Blaise. I can meet you here Monday, after classes?”

Blaise nodded, “I’ll meet you here.”

******

Blaise’s owl – Aalish – landed in front of him just as he finished lunch. The bird cooed softly to Blaise who took the letter from the Greater Sooty Owl. Aalish shook herself and finished off the food on Blaise’s plate. Meanwhile, Blaise opened the letter.

_To my dear son,_

_I will be going on a delightful holiday to Egypt this Christmas. Unfortunately, this means you will have to spend your Christmas holidays at Hogwarts. I am sure you will not be alone. If you wish, you can go to a friend’s house for the break – as long as you don’t inconvenience them._

_You do not need to worry about me; I will be with Ramessu Abadi, your new stepfather. We will be having the wedding in early February. Unfortunately, this means you will miss it due to your school term._

_Stay safe,_

_Adriana Zabini_

Blaise glared at the letter and with a quick spell, turned it to ashes. The owl let out a soft shriek and Blaise ran a hand over the owl’s head. “Thanks Aalish, I might have you send back a letter later.”

The dark-coloured owl stared at its owner before taking off. “What was that all about, Zabini?” Draco Malfoy drawled.

Blaise turned to face his classmate with a raised eyebrow. “What makes you think it’s any of your business?”

“Everything is my business,” Draco replied snottily. “Who knows? Maybe I just wish to know what has my _friend_ so upset.”

Blaise carefully hid any tells of his emotions, hearing the message behind what Draco was saying. By stating that they were friends, Draco was showing that he still counted Blaise as someone within his group, and cared for him – to a degree. It was a show that displayed Draco didn’t care that Blaise was speaking up against what he had once said (and still believed). They were still friends. It also told Blaise that Draco still enjoyed his company, and would – occasionally – help Blaise out. This meant that Blaise owed Draco and Draco was willing to use him.

“My mother is going away over the holidays. Thus, I will be staying at Hogwarts this Christmas,” Blaise replied. Draco raised an eyebrow, sensing that Blaise was holding something back from him. Blaise scowled, “She’s going away with someone. There is to be a wedding in February.”

Draco nodded, “Are they anyone I would know?” Draco asked. The majority of the purebloods had heard of Adriana Zabini’s multiple husbands, who had all died one way or another, leaving a single parent to deal with their belongings and her own child.

Blaise shook his head, “I believe he has Egyptian heritage. He is no one of importance.”

“Your mother still refuses to allow you to stay alone in one of your estates?” The Ice Prince asked, “I thought she would’ve allowed you to by now.”

“My mother has other things on her mind,” Blaise replied before standing up. “Now, if you excuse me, I have things to be doing.”

“Feel like working together?” Draco asked, knowing that Blaise was going to the Vipers meeting.

Blaise tilted his head, “If you don’t mind being near Tracey.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gosh, I have another chapter I can publish, but I didn't realise that this wasn't up to date where I was writing. I'm currently attempting to write chapter 9, but it's being a little shit and gracefully ignoring my work. However, I do have a few friends who helped me out with it and helped me to decide to move forward with the plot. 
> 
> Also, the next chapter is great. I love it.


	8. Chapter Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco does not give pep talks; he doesn't give inspiring speeches. He is a Slytherin and pureblood. He will cunningly speak to other Slytherins in order to make them stronger.   
> Blaise finds that speaking up has bigger consequences than simply changing some Slytherin minds regarding the war.   
> Rosalyn also pops up for a visit - and runes get mentioned, a lot.

Draco looked over the rest of the Slytherins. Almost everyone was in the room, all except Jordan Frain who Professor Snape had taken to talk to in his office. However, older student had already known what the reason was; Jordan’s parents had been killed late last night.

Slytherin had sorted itself up into small groups. Some people searching for comfort, while others wanted to gossip. Nonetheless, the mood was sombre, gloomy. They all knew what Jordan’s parents are – what Jordan’s parents were. Draco knew more than most, but he hadn’t told anyone. He was uncertain who he could trust, who would betray him.

Draco can’t remember when the atmosphere of Slytherin had been fearful. He was annoyed that Blaise, indirectly, had brought this on. He was even more irritated that he was scared as well.

Blaise was standing by the first years, who were obviously scared and nervous, frightened of what was to come. The older students were worried too. They had no plan and no ideas. The idea that they might be forced to do something they didn’t want to do was terrifying, and Slytherins were never meant to be forced.

This was _Draco’s_ house. They were _his_ people. The Slytherins of this era were not the Dark Lord’s, not yet and possibly never. They were children, growing and learning to become adults, to become mature. Here, in Hogwart’s stone hallways, they treaded carefully where no enemies should be but were anyway.

The Dark Lord had been gone for many years. People had been through Hogwarts, grown up, and become older. Children had been born into peacetime and had lived in peace for years. They did not know war.

The Slytherins of Hogwarts, they were not Voldemort’s nor Dumbledore’s nor the Minister’s nor Snape’s. They were Slytherins who had a hierarchy, and an adult was not at the top.

Draco looked over _his_ brothers and sisters and everything in between. They weren’t Voldemort’s, but maybe they could be, but that wasn’t important. Draco was like his namesake – a dragon – in few ways. He was ready to defend what was _his_ and he would _protect_ them because they are _his_ and no one could take them away from him.

Draco opened his mouth to speak, but the murmur of whispers was too loud for him to be heard over. He caught the eye of Blaise who nodded. A piercing whistle cut through the air and everyone turned silent. The Ice Prince of Slytherin spoke. The children of Slytherin listened.

“The Dark Lord is back, as we have known for a while. The Ministry of Magic refuses to acknowledge this. They are blind. They are _scared_. There are attacks and raids occurring. The sides are gathering their armies, their soldiers. There will be battles. There will be war. You have heard that the Dark Lord does kill his followers. You will have heard that he is not who we have been taught he is. He is not pureblood, and he is not a god. He is a man, a wizard. He has power but he does not have blood. He _lies_ , he _kills_ , he _murders_. He does _not_ have the same morals we do. He is _not_ like _us_.”

Draco paused, seeing the impact his words were having on the other Slytherins. “I know you’re scared. I am too. When the news of Voldemort’s return comes out, the other houses will turn to each other for help. They will scorn us more. We will be seen as Death Eaters, as _murderers_. We will not be given the chance to be seen as otherwise, for they will not look beyond what has been. Stick together, prepare yourselves, and watch each other’s backs. Those in other houses may not remain our friends for long.

“We need to show a united front. We have always done this so we can protect ourselves. It is more important now than ever before. Let’s not cause a stir; we need to figure out our stances. Some of us may be neutral, and some may be inclined to believe the purebloods aren’t superior, while others may believe the opposite. It doesn’t matter what you think. We are Slytherins. _We_ _are kin_. Let’s agree to stay neutral outside of our house. No more outward hatred and bullying of muggleborns. Do not antagonise the Golden Trio, but _do not_ let it appear that we are giving up, giving in. Do not befriend them either. Stay out of school politics.

“Make your decisions on where you stand. Contact your parents and learn where they stand, but do not alert them to what is going on. We need to protect them, but we need to protect ourselves as well. Move in groups of at least three, but make sure groups are not all muggleborns.”

Draco stood back, merging into the crowd, letting the Slytherins know he had finished speaking. Blaise pushed himself forward so he was standing next to Draco. He didn’t say anything, and Draco was grateful for that. They didn’t need to speak. After all, they were friends.

“In a few months you come of age, don’t you?” Draco asked his friend.

Blaise nodded, “Yes, I become heir of my family. I also become Lord of the Zabini family, which doesn’t mean much. However, it does mean my status goes up and I have total control over all Zabini assets and finances.”

Draco hummed, “What are you going to do with all the places you own?”

“Probably hide some, sell some, and prepare myself so I’ll survive the war,” Blaise replied. He cast a glance to his left, just making out a group of first years. “Maybe I’ll let someone know of a safe house that’s around.”

“Are you going to keep your neutral position in the war?”

Blaise lifted one shoulder in a shrug, “I don’t want to die, and I don’t want others I care about to die. I don’t care what I have to do in order for that to occur.” After all, he was a Slytherin.

******

Blaise had just come out of Ancient Runes and was heading to lunch when a younger student tugged him into an empty classroom. Blaise had been walking with a trio of younger Slytherin students coming from Arithmancy on the seventh floor. The Slytherins continued on, knowing Blaise could take care of himself.

Blaise holds his pinewood and dragon heartstring wand in one hand. He’s confused but ready to fight. Meanwhile, the younger student just looks at him, before whispering – as if speaking louder will cause people to enter the disused classroom, “I don’t agree with my guardian, and I don’t want to die.”

Blaise ran the words through his head before nodding. “Alright,” he agreed, “Do you want to explain?”

“I’m Cynthia Black, but I live with my aunt – Martina Carrow. I don’t think she’s a Death Eater, but she agrees with their belief. I don’t. I can’t live in the same house if she finds out. I don’t have any family that will take me in. The closest I have is Malfoy, we’re second cousins, and his father isn’t going to want me.”

“Why did you come to me?”

“You spoke up,” Cynthia replied. “You spoke up to the _entire_ Slytherin house and told us that You-Know-Who _lies_. You _forced_ Slytherin to think. Not many Slytherins are obviously going to be Death Eaters. However, at the start of the year, I would’ve thought at least half of your classmates would be Death Eaters, and now I’m not so sure.”

“What can I do to help you?”

“I overheard you when you were talking to Malfoy yesterday. I want a safe house,” Cynthia demanded.

Blaise stared at the pale-skinned student. She was scared. He could see that. “What’s your stance on the war?”

“I don’t agree with pureblood supremacy, but I’m not going to go forfeit my life in the fighting either,” Cynthia replied.

Blaise chewed on his lip. He had expected this, thought he had a bit more time, but he had anticipated it nonetheless. “Alright,” he eventually said. “In early January, I gain my inheritance. Due to politics, I become Lord of the Zabini family. Term ends in June. You have all that time to make your final decisions and gather what you need to go into hiding from your family. During that time, I’ll hide one of my properties. It won’t be that unusual for me to do so. You can hide on that property. However,” Blaise stared at his housemate, “I want something in return.”

Cynthia nodded, “You have a deal.”

“I’ll owl you if I need details or if you need to know more,” Blaise responded. Cynthia walked out of the unused classroom, leaving Blaise behind.

Blaise hummed in thought. As a Black, Cynthia had some relation to the missing Sirius Black, mass-murderer – or was that a lie to? – and she was related to the Carrows and Malfoys by her own words. If she owed him a favour… Well, Blaise could use it something important based on her lineage – if she wasn’t an illegitimate child, which Blaise thought she might be. Although, maybe he could call in the favour some other way. He was sure something would come up.

******

Rosalyn was crammed between two shelves and reading a book when Blaise found her, he had walked past her twice, but she had been hidden by the shelves that Blaise hadn’t noticed. He nudged her with a foot to get her attention.

Rosalyn looked up and blinked, brown eyes seemed confused. “Oh, I completely forgot!” Rosalyn said, “I did the research, but I forgot it was today we were meeting. I learnt quite a bit about ancient runes, I had no idea they were so important.”

Blaise frowned, a memory felt just out of reach. “They have some power,” he said slowly, “but not much. It really depends on the rune set; some have a more diverse capability while others are almost useless in the grand scale of things. Some of the oldest runes are the most useless because they’re generally quite specific and back then nothing was known about runes. I think that the runes at that time were being used by everyone in that region.”

Rosalyn grinned, “I take it you do Ancient Runes? That’ll come in handy.” Blaise nodded in response. “Okay, so the basis of what I already knew is that spells originally start with tons of words, really specifying what the caster wants. The more work refinement put into a spell, the less words and wand movements needed. The intent behind a spell is important too, as that’s what the wand movement and incantation focus, which controls the magic and so forth.

“The part I didn’t know was the wand movement, and how it has to do with Elder Futhark runes, but I believe that’s just for European-based magic. Wand movement originates from these runes, but normally only a few are relevant to the spell itself. It’s refined by merging some of the runes together and slightly altering it. It takes a lot of time to lose the majority of the wand movements, also a lot of understanding wand movements in general, and how it affects your magic. Most people don’t actually refine their own spells – that happens with time. Few wizards are able to refine spells, normally those with a feel for their own magic and control over it.”

Blaise blinked, “Where do you keep all that information?” He asked in bemusement.

Rosalyn laughed, brown eyes gleaming in the light of the library. “I do hope you didn’t want me to do all the work.”

Blaise shook his head, “I can help; especially regarding the runes. You were talking about the Elder Futhark runes, which I learnt in third year, we also revisited that runic alphabet earlier this year.”

Rosalyn picked up a pile of books and Blaise followed her to a table. He set his bag on the desk, before pulling out a few scrolls of parchment. He had had Study of Ancient Runes a few sessions ago; therefore, he had his recorded information on the Elder Futhark runes.

Blaise unrolled the parchment and quickly scanned the page, pulling out runes that would suit the spell itself. “There are five runes that we could use, but one can be reversed to give another meaning that could be helpful.”

“I don’t know too much about the Elder Futhark runes,” Rosalyn admitted, “just a few things about their existence. I can’t recall the names of them, but the book I read mentioned something about aettir?”

“The aettir aren’t actually that important, unless we’re using runes from a single aett. That’s mainly because runes need to balance each other out, keep them in power, but not let one be too powerful as it can cause an imbalance of power, which can lead to a storing of magic that builds up. That’s never good,” Blaise replied.

“What runes were you thinking, then?” Rosalyn asked, “And why those ones? Remember, I only know the bare basics.”

“Alright, one rune is uruz,” Blaise began. “The reason why I want it is because it means physical strength, energy, plain strength, and the shaping of power. I’d imagine it would be helpful in staying strong against physical strength, and it would help shape the shield itself.”

Rosalyn nodded, “Are you saying these runes in a specific order?”

Blaise shook his head, “I’ve written them out in an order here, but it’s not going to be the right order for the spell. Another rune I was thinking was thurisaz, mainly for its meaning of directed force of defence, and its tendency to act as a regenerative catalyst.”

“What exactly do you mean by a regenerative catalyst? Catalyst as in substance or catalyst as in enabler or catalyst as in channels?”

Blaise frowned, “It depends on the runes it’s in conjunction with, I’d imagine. A third rune is nauthiz, or naudiz. The sound difference is because there was a mixed translation, and it caught on. That has the meanings resistance leading to strength and the power of will to overcome them – them referring to conflict.”

“By resistance leading to strength, are you implying that the resistance of the shield will lead it to be stronger or for it to resist strength?” Rosalyn asked, staring at the parchment.

“The first one,” Blaise said after a moment of consideration. “Another rune that would work well is eihwaz. It tends to mean strength, reliability, dependability, defence, and protection. The last rune is algiz, it means protection, shield, defence, and it can be used to channel energies appropriately. However, I was thinking we could also use it inverted, as that can give means that which repels.”

“Do you have any ideas for an order?” Rosalyn asked.

Blaise copied across the selected runes to a new sheet of parchment, along with the necessary meanings. “I think either algiz or uruz should go first.”

“Algiz would be best, I reckon,” Rosalyn murmured. “It can channel the energy, in this case magic, and it also means shield and protection, so it sets a basis for the spell as well as referring to the caster’s intent.”

Blaise wrote a one next to the rune, “Then we can have uruz after algiz. Uruz should shape the power, the magic – as you said, into a shield, and it brings the strength into the spell as well as the reference to energy and physical strength.”

The pair were silent for a moment, studying the parchment and attempting to puzzle out which rune would be the next one. “Nauthiz,” Rosalyn eventually said, “it can be used for the power of will to overcome conflict, specifically physical strength, and it reinforces the idea of a shield with resistance leading to strength.

“Could you reuse uruz for physical strength and strength, and follow it with inverted algiz so it repels both kinds of strength?” Rosalyn suggested.

Blaise nodded, “That could work. You could follow it up with thurisaz, which would make the shield have a regenerative component, or at least make it stronger. It should direct the magic for defence as well. If you end with eihwaz, you’re solidifying the idea of defence and protection, you also add in the reliability and dependability, which would make the spell better.”

Rosalyn hummed, “I think that would work. There’s a lot of reinforcing the idea of shield, protection, defence, and strength. The spell incantation also emphasizes that, and with our intent… hopefully it’ll work. Is the placement of the runes important?”

“Yes,” Blaise said, “the placement and whether they touch each other is extremely important.” Blaise pulled out another blank parchment, dipped his quill in plain non-magic ink; he started drawing out the runes. The use of non-magic ink was important, as if any magic got into the runes, they would start working and pulling magic from Blaise. Blaise didn’t want to check if the runes would work until he could draw them correctly and easily.

The algiz was sketched first, before being placed inside the uruz. The left outside line of the uruz was connected to the right tip of the diagonal cross in nauthiz, which lower tip touched the right side of the second uruz, which contained the inverted algiz. All five runes were sketched inside the triangle of the thurisaz rune. Along the left straight line of the thurisaz rune, the eihwaz rune was drawn.

Blaise checked over his work twice, checking for any inconsistencies or places where the runes could cause problems. “I think that works,” he eventually said.

Rosalyn shrugged, “I wouldn’t know, I don’t take Study of Ancient Runes. From what I know, though, it looks correct.”

Blaise nudged her with his shoulder, “If it blows up in our faces, I place all the blame in you for not telling me this was a terrible idea.”

Rosalyn chuckled, “You’re going to learn why Ravenclaw never wins the house cup,” she said. “I mean, as a house we gain more points than any other house, but we excel in losing them.”

“How so?” Blaise asked in confusion.

“Well… we tend to stay in the library out of hours, sneak into the restricted section, not return books on time, set up secret potion labs – for research purposes, throw things off the tower – which is also for research purposes, throw things into the lake for research purposes. We also take small field trips into the forbidden forest to get samples that we need every so often, tampering with muggle stuff – which is kind of illegal, and umm… ‘borrowing’ school equipment and ingredients for said research.”

“You don’t see the Gryffindors losing points for breaking the rules,” Blaise pointed out. “You should argue against the taking away of points.”

“Oh we do,” Rosalyn assured him, “We have full on debates. However, the professors often call us out on calling non-Ravenclaws test subjects, and thus we lost more points.”

Rosalyn opened one of the books she had brought along, flipping to a page bookmarked with a quill. Rosalyn moved the quill aside and one page. “This section explains how often magic is pushed into runes in air state, with the incantation being said aloud. Do you know what it means by air state? The book didn’t go into much detail and I didn’t have the time to search in any other books.”

“Air state runes are annoying,” Blaise complained. “To put it simply, there are two states for runes – air and ground. Runes in ground state are those written onto paper or carved into something; basically they will stay that way for a while. Runes in air state are those that are seen in the air – not actually written on anything. They’re either seen when someone’s wand movement is a rune, and it can become visible for a few seconds depending on the amount of power put into it. However, the other way to create a rune in air state is to put it on runic parchment with runic-air ink.”

“Do you have any of that?”

“I do,” Blaise admitted, “but before we got any further with it, I’d want to make sure I can write the runes correctly, ten out of ten times.”

Rosalyn hummed, “Fair enough,” she said. “I think I have some homework to do, something transfiguration related. Professor McGonagall will actually kill me if I don’t do my homework again.”

Blaise laughed as he packed up his things, “I wish you the best of luck.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so first off, Cynthia Black's lineage checks out. As in, I did a lot of research regarding the pureblood families to have it work. I have a paragraph regarding her family if anyone wants it... Although, to make it work, I ended up drawing a family tree to see if it works. It was a lot of work that was probably unnecessary, but it means that Cynthia has /status/ if she ever tells anyone her lineage. 
> 
> Now, regarding the runes... A lot of research went into it, and then I took creative rights and made some more information (like where magic began... there's a lot on that). It means I have information to incorporate into the book, and that I don't need to figure anything out for a bit of time, hopefully. 
> 
> Who liked Draco's speech? I appreciated it (but I wrote it, so there might be some bias there). I have found I enjoy writing Draco, especially with showing his changing a bit more. I mean, he isn't sure where his loyalties lie yet, but his first loyalty is currently to his family, then Slytherin, and then... well, he has yet to figure that out. 
> 
> I'm not sure where the ext chapter is going to go, so it'll be a while before it comes out... I'll get there though, eventually. I'll probably end up writing a bunch of short stories while doing it. Oh well, this will get updated eventually.


	9. Author's Note

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I write a note. I am sorry. This book is on hold from now until such time as I have an actual plot and have time on my hands.

I am currently planning to rewrite this and develop this entire idea further. However, my workload is about to increase dramatically, so I'm not sure how much time I will have to work on this. However, I really love this idea and I have a bunch of thoughts for worldbuilding and so forth. I will continue this, just eventually. I'm planning to review all my plot ideas and work out an actual plot, also further all my ideas and the intricacies of Slytherin and the rest of the houses. I really want to expand on certain topics and explore pureblood traditions and so much more. For that reason, I'll probably take a lot of time plotting and reviewing this and thinking up new ideas.

Furthermore, I want to put my focus into The Sea Never Dies, as I have a plot for that and a lot of ideas, and I can slowly put my time into it. That said, my updates for it will probably decrease to once a month, maybe. However, I will still be putting up minor short-stories and so forth.

Sorry, everyone, for putting this on hold and planning a rewrite. I swear I will get around to it. It may not be until after November, though, as that is when my workload will shrink drastically and I will have so much free time and stress, but less stress at the same time.

I hope you guys all understand.


End file.
